The San Francisco 49ers lost in the NFC Championship Game for a second straight season, and unlike last year’s defeat at Los Angeles that came down to a fourth-quarter collapse, this one looked doomed from the start and will cast quite a dark cloud for the offseason.
Brock Purdy, the once-unbeaten rookie phenom, injured his throwing elbow on the 49ers’ opening possession of what became a 31-7 disaster. Purdy didn’t re-enter the game until the third quarter. Even then, it was only because his backup, Josh Johnson, sustained a concussion and Purdy was able to do nothing more than hand off the ball.
This ending did come with drama, in the form of left tackle Trent Williams’ ejection for body-slamming Eagles safety K’Von Wallace at the end of a play. Officials ordered both teams to their sideline to avert a brawl.with 3:51 remaining.
The 49ers fell to 2-6 in conference-championship games on the road, and this was their most lopsided defeat, bearing little resemblance to last season’s 20-17 exit in Los Angeles.
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San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) leaves the field after a 31-7 loss top the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) San Francisco 49ers’ Javon Kinlaw (99) consoles teammate Kerry Hyder Jr. (92) after a 31-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) A downcast San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) sits on the bench as the final moments tick off in a 31-7 loss in the NFC Championship Game the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) gets a hug from Philadelphia Eagles’ Avonte Maddows (29) after a 31-7 loss in the NFC Championship Game, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) San Francisco 49ers’ Ray-Ray McCloud III (3) is one of the last players to leave the sidelines after a 31-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) gets a hug from a teammate in the final moments of a 31-7 loss in the NFC Championship Game to the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) San Francisco 49ers’ Jauan Jennings (15) is among the last players to leave the field after a 31-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) San Francisco 49ers’ Ray-Ray McCloud III (3) holds his head after a 31-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) San Francisco 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey (23) watches the final moments of a 31-7 loss in the NFC Championship Game to the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans leaves the field after a 31-7 loss top the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) San Francisco 49ers’ Trent Williams (71) throws Philadelphia Eagles’ K’Von Wallace to the ground during a brawl in the fourth quarter that got them both ejected from the NFC Championship Game, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) An official looks in the eyes of San Francisco 49ers’ Josh Johnson (17) after he suffered a hard tackle in the third quarter of the NFC Championship Game by Philadelphia Eagles’ Ndamukong Suh (74) at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) San Francisco 49ers’ Josh Johnson (17) fumbles in the second quarter of the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) San Francisco 49ers’ Robbie Gould (9) watches as the Philadelphia Eagle head to a 31-7 victory in the NFC Championship Game, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) San Francisco 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey (23) scores on a 23-yard touchdown run in the second quarter of the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts passes against the San Francisco 49ers at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) San Francisco 49ers’ Josh Johnson (17) is knocked out in the third quarter of the NFC Championship Game by Philadelphia Eagles’ Ndamukong Suh (74) at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) San Francisco 49ers’ Deebo Samuel (19) gets tackled in the fourth quarter of the Philadelphia Eagle’s 31-7 route of the NFC Championship Game, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) San Francisco 49ers fans cheer before the NFC Championship Game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) Philadelphia Eagle’s Miles Sanders (26) scores a touchdown ahead of San Francisco 49ers’ Deommodore Lenoir (38) in the second quarter of the NFC Championship Game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan looks for answers in the first quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) San Francisco 49ers quarterback Josh Johnson (17) is pulled down by Philadelphia Eagle’s Javon Hargrave (97) in the second quarter of the NFC Championship Game, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) San Francisco 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey (23) scores on a 23-yard touchdown run in the second quarter of the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) San Francisco 49ers’ Josh Johnson (17) fumbles in the second quarter of the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) San Francisco 49ers’ Jordan Mason (24) draws a penalty for roughing Philadelphia Eagle’s kicker Brett Kern in the second half of the NFC Championship Game, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) Chicken cheesesteaks grill in the parking lot outside Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where the San Francisco 49er face the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) San Francisco 49ers’ Brock Purdy (13), George Kittle (85) and Tyler Kroft (81) warm up before the NFC Championship Game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) A sprinkling of San Francisco 49er jerseys pepper the crowd waiting for the Lincoln Financial Field gates to open in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, two hours before the NFC Championship Game kickoff, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
