The Philadelphia Eagles secured their Super Bowl ticket in dominating fashion with a 31-7 win over the San Francisco 49ers in Sunday’s NFC Championship game. The game went in their favor due to injuries and some lucky penalties, but there was one part of that competition that reflected their overwhelming win over the New York Giants last week: They didn’t need much to hit Jalen Hurts to score .
However, this weekend’s version of Hurts looked different than the one that went up in the divisional round.
Last week, Hurts was conservative with the ball after missing time with a shoulder injury he picked up late in the season. On Sunday afternoon, the quarterback, who has been an MVP candidate all season, was absolutely terrible at throwing the ball. He was accurate within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage, but he struggled to throw the ball down and to the edges of the 49ers’ defense. He had some success as a runner throughout the game, but suffered from wild inaccuracies throughout most of the game. It didn’t matter on Sunday as the Eagles rolled over a decimated opponent.
Hurts posted a 72.3 QBR as he walked 15 of 25 for 121 yards and rushed for 39 yards on 11 attempts. His longest finish was a 29-yarder against DeVonta Smith, a finish that Replay says shouldn’t have counted. Hurts only had three other shots that went for 10 yards or more.
It feels odd talking about a championship game with two of the best teams in the league, but there wasn’t much to learn about the Eagles in that game. The 49ers were stuck on a run-only offense in the second half and, as expected, didn’t get much from that approach. Still, Philadelphia deserves credit for scoring 31 points in arguably the best defense in the NFL and being able to score that many points without an effective passing game. The 49ers’ defense played well early in the game, but San Francisco was worn down by the lack of help it received from its exhausted offense.
The story goes on
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles wore down the 49ers to win the NFC Championship and reach the Super Bowl. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
The Eagles were able to play the second half on cruise control. That speaks to the talent and quality of their team and the situation they were gifted in on Sunday. The fact that there isn’t much to learn from this game doesn’t detract from the Eagles or their chances of winning the Super Bowl. Such a strong side should prevail against an opponent decimated by injury in the most important position of the game. Based on the team the 49ers fielded at the end of the game, this should have been the expected result.
That’s still how the Eagles were all season, even if Hurts didn’t help them much through the air on Sunday. They have an authoritative attack that seems to have gotten better in the playoffs, the defense is incredibly talented up front, and their coaching staff continues to give them enough edge to let all their talent shine through.
As a spectator, the NFC Championship game was incredibly anticlimactic — but the Eagles aren’t spectators of their own success. A win is a win and at this point the only thing that matters is making it to the Super Bowl. They’ll likely need more from Hurts against the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes or Bengals’ Joe Burrow, but it’s still a great sign that the Eagles’ roster is complete enough that they’re pulling off multiple touchdown wins without much help from Hurts be able.
The Eagles are still an elite team. It was just shown in a much more mundane way than is usually expected of a conference championship game. Only teams that face them and have earned the right mindset to become AFC champions can play.