The 49ers’ season ended after an ugly 31-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship game.
The Niners were tagged for 81 yards 11 times, and Bay Area fans, reporters, and especially head coach Kyle Shanahan were all quick to point fingers at the umpires for walking at San Francisco’s expense the entire game. But while the frustration is understandable, the extent of the finger-pointing at the umpires seems to ignore that quarterback Brock Purdy’s first-quarter injury seemed to rock the entire Niners team. Players on either side of the ball appeared to be pressing and playing with an added level of physicality that fans should expect to lead to more penalties.
Far from perfect, the umpires were definitely willing to throw flags for defensive holds and defensive pass interference with minimal contact. This isn’t exactly an earth-shattering new development; That’s the direction the NFL has taken as an official for the past 40 years. After all, the 49ers might as well have capitalized on this bias if they had a more aggressive pass attack. It was Purdy’s and Josh Johnson’s injuries that limited their options on offense.
Several 49ers analysts and fans, including Athletic’s Steve Berman, thought Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson got away with false starts every game. But as offensive line expert Duke Manyweather explained on Twitter, early movement doesn’t automatically mean a penalty was committed. As with any rule, there are loopholes that players try to exploit.
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A roughing-the-kicker flag in the third quarter against Jordan Mason allowed the Eagles to take a 28-7 lead instead of handing the ball back to the 49ers, who were 21-7 behind. Niners fans grabbed the end zone angle that appeared to show Mason being shoved into Eagles punter Brett Kern in what shouldn’t be a game penalty. However, the side view makes it pretty clear that Mason’s momentum would have carried him into the kicker had it not been for the jab. The Niners have a valid complaint about Mason being called for a personal foul instead of running into the kicker, but that 5-yard penalty would have only set up a fourth and one that the ever-aggressive Eagles would likely have converted with a quarterback sneak anyway. Does that justify the referee’s mistake? no But the right call would still have put Philadelphia in a position to continue the ride.
The Eagles have been the best team in the NFC all season and for good reason. On the road, the 49ers needed excellence to generate excitement. Instead, their already depleted depth at quarterback was tested even further by injuries to Purdy and Johnson. Although the Niners seemed unable to lose for nearly three months, it took a lot of luck to maintain a 12-game winning streak. Things finally started to go wrong on Sunday, against a team that had a near-zero error rate.