Eagles Fly Into Super Bowl

They beat San Francisco 49ers 31-7 Sunday
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 29, 2023 7:37 PM CST
Eagles Soar Into Super Bowl
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts passes during the second half of the NFC Championship NFL football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, in Philadelphia.   (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Jalen Hurts had one of Philadelphia's four rushing touchdowns and the Eagles soared into the Super Bowl, forcing both of San Francisco's quarterbacks out of the game with injuries and beating the wounded 49ers 31-7 in the NFC championship game on Sunday, the AP reports. The Eagles, who won the Super Bowl five years ago with a different coach and quarterback, will try to do it again behind the formidable duo of Hurts and coach Nick Sirianni. Philadelphia will play either the Cincinnati Bengals or former Eagles coach Andy Reid's Kansas City Chiefs. “We get to do it because we did it better than anyone in the NFC this year,” Sirianni said.

Hurts had a modest game by his standards after a season in which he was a finalist for MVP. He was 15-of-25 passing for 121 yards and ran for just 39. Hurts sat alone at his locker dressed all in purple and he took a few puffs of a cigar as the Eagles celebrated around him. He understood there was one more game to win. “I never knew how far we’d go,” Hurts said, “but I never said it couldn’t be done.” Miles Sanders ran for two touchdowns and linebacker Haason Reddick made the hit that forced 49ers rookie quarterback Brock Purdy out of the game with an elbow injury. Reddick also recovered a fumble by Purdy's replacement, Josh Johnson, who later suffered a concussion.

That forced Purdy back into the game, but his injury was clearly a factor as the 49ers all but gave up on throwing the ball, even while trailing by multiple scores. San Francisco's bad luck at quarterback was finally too much to overcome as its 12-game win streak ended. The Niners lost both Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo to season-ending injuries, and Purdy—the final pick in April's draft—lost as a starter for the first time. Philadelphia police greased traffic and light poles in what proved again to be a futile attempt to slow the postgame revelry. The city now has its beloved Birds in the Super Bowl just three months after the Philadelphia Phillies reached the World Series. The Super Bowl is Feb. 12 in Glendale, Arizona.

(More NFL stories.)

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