The 49ers’ 10-game winning streak at the end of the regular season put them in a position to host two playoff games at Levi’s Stadium.
Now, after victories over the Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco flies to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.
And their first road test will not be easy.
“Expect it to get electric in there,” Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon said Tuesday. “I was here for a Final Four game and it was electric – the best environment I’ve ever been in or been a part of. We’re excited and we need to get through the week and do a good job to give ourselves a chance to win.”
Gannon was once in the shoes of the 49ers. As the assistant coach of the Minnesota defensive backs, Gannon traveled with the Vikings to the January 21, 2018 NFC Championship Game at Lincoln Financial Field.
He recounted how he spent a moment with Vikings security guard Harrison Smith prior to that game as they exchanged surprised looks at the chaotic noise levels in the stadium.
“You could feel the energy, and it’s amazing,” Gannon said. “This is one of the best atmospheres you’ll get in the National Football League and obviously as this is the league game it’s amplified.”
Gannon said the noise from the crowd ahead of this NFC Championship game was louder than the noise level in the Vikings’ previous playoff game at US Bank Stadium before the game. In this divisional round game, Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs caught a 61-yard touchdown pass when time was up to beat the New Orleans Saints, a game known as the “Minneapolis Miracle.”
“That was the ‘Minnesota Miracle’, that game to come [to Lincoln Financial Field] to play, and I said, ‘Wow, I don’t know if there’s ever going to be a stadium more electric than the one I was a part of after Diggs had a walk-off,'” Gannon said.
“When we were here warming up, it was like that. So when we were here warming up it was like, ‘Whoa, that’s so electric — it’s more than electric [U.S. Bank Stadium] was.’ ”
The Eagles won that game 38-7 and two weeks later in Minneapolis clinched their first Super Bowl win in franchise history. Rookie quarterback Brock Purdy is tasked with making sure the 49ers do better than the Vikings did four years ago.
Purdy has passed every test he has faced this season with flying colors. Now he must lead the 49ers’ offense against a dangerous Eagles pass-rushing defense and a rowdy crowd.
However, Gannon thinks Purdy will be ready to handle the atmosphere.
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“I’ve never played quarterback in an environment like this,” Gannon added. “But I honestly think once the ball snaps – now the noise definitely affects an offense when you’re at home. I know that. The noise may compel them to do some other things, but they will have a plan for it and be ready to go.
“I think what influences every quarterback is how we execute it and how we influence it throughout the game.”
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