The Eagles are just 30 minutes of good football away from advancing to Super Bowl 57 after taking a 21-7 lead over the 49ers at the half.
Jalen Hurts was solid, while San Francisco’s star rookie Brock Purdy was forced to exit Sunday’s matchup with an elbow injury after a strip sack by Haason Reddick.
49ers star tight end George Kittle was limited to one catch for nine yards in the first half, while his counterpart, Dallas Goedert, logged five catches for 23 yards on seven targets.
With the second half set to begin, here are 10 takeaways from the first half.
Haason Reddick hs dominant
HAASON REDDICK CAN’T BE BLOCKED
pic.twitter.com/avN72dRxDU— PFF (@PFF) January 29, 2023
Reddick led the league in strip sacks this season (now 6, including playoffs), and has recorded 18.5 sacks in 19 games.
Eagles coming out in a five-man front forces the 49ers to try and block Reddick with their backup TE in Kroft. pic.twitter.com/vqhL3dgSFl
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) January 29, 2023
Reddick has three tackles, two sacks, one tackle for loss, and one pass defended in the first half.
Brock Purdy injured
#SFvsPHI @DignityHealth injury update: QB Brock Purdy (right elbow) is questionable to return.
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) January 29, 2023
Purdy was 2-2 for 19 yards passing before exiting the contest.
HAASON REDDICK CAN’T BE BLOCKED
pic.twitter.com/avN72dRxDU— PFF (@PFF) January 29, 2023
Wire Gate
Official said they cannot confirm that Brett Kern's punt hit the wire. 34 yards and 24 yards total after the Zech McPhearson penalty. #Eagles https://t.co/Uep5KuVN7N
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) January 29, 2023
The punt may or may not have hit the wire.
Wire-punt (?) dots!
I actually think you can see the ball change its trajectory. pic.twitter.com/tMsB8oyiOa
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) January 29, 2023
Solid first quarter
Jalen Hurts was 8-11 for 71 yards in the first quarter, and Philadelphia had 83 total yards in the first quarter with 18 plays.
Through one half of play, Hurts is 13-19 for 97 yards.
Josh Johnson tossed into the fire
A first cousin of former NFL star Marshawn Lynch, Josh Johnson made his first career playoff appearance with Purdy’s exit.
Johnson is an athletic quarterback, but has a 1-8 record in his NFL career, with 13 passing touchdowns and 16 interceptions.
In the first half after being inserted, Johnson went 5-9 passing for 51 yards.
Eagles feasting on 49ers offensive front
Philadelphia logged three early sacks against the Niners and will look to pressure Josh Johnson in the second half.
Missed tackles are going to cost the Eagles
San Francisco tied the game up with a six-play, 46-yard drive that ended with a Christian McCaffrey 23-yard touchdown run.
Time to wake up, @Eagles pic.twitter.com/EQkTSYhjtZ
— JAKIB Sports (@JAKIBSports) January 29, 2023
Four Eagles missed tackles on the play, starting with Marcus Epps and ending with two Birds defenders not wrapping up as McCaffrey ran in for the score.
Christian McCaffrey (23-yd TD run)
🔹 Expected Rush Yards: 4
🔹 Yards Over Expected: +19
🔹 TD Probability: 1.1%McCaffrey: +27 RYOE today, +161 since Week 7 (5th among RBs)#SFvsPHI | #FTTB pic.twitter.com/kuFFN8O76G
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) January 29, 2023
Jalen Hurts negated as a rusher
Hurts had over 700 yards rushing during the regular season, but has been limited to four carries for -1 yards on the ground.
Third down drama
Philadelphia was 2-7 on third down and up until late in the second quarter and looked out of sync on offense after that successful first drive.
The Eagles were 2-2 on critical fourth downs.
Kenneth Gainwell with the juice
Gainwell had three carries for 21 yards, with a 17-yard burst to put the Eagles into scoring position with two minutes left in the first half.
Random Notes
Miles Sanders had 10 carries for 39 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.
A.J. Brown led the Eagles in catches with four grabs for 28 yards during tightly contested matchups on the outside.
The 49ers led the NFL in turnover differential this year with +13. They're -2 in the first half. https://t.co/Dm0BRsORdB
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) January 29, 2023
Philadelphia had the advantage in the turnover battle (2/0) after Josh Johnson’s costly fumble late in the second quarter.
Boston Scott has scored a touchdown in three straight games.
BOSTON SCOTT FOR SIX#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/1mCjxfWwTJ
— JAKIB Sports (@JAKIBSports) January 29, 2023
