Late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s NFC championship game, the Jumbotron at Lincoln Financial Field zeroed in on Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. At first, the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback had a giant smile on his face. Then he caught himself. “One more,” Hurts mouthed to the camera, getting back to his usual serious expression. The crowd erupted.
The Eagles beat the 49ers Sunday 31-7 and are headed to the Super Bowl to face the Chiefs. The actual game itself was a bit of a dud, with the 49ers undone by quarterback injuries. Brock Purdy suffered an elbow injury on San Francisco’s first possession, and Josh Johnson suffered a concussion in the third quarter. For a brief period in the first half, it looked like the 49ers would still be able to put up a fight, thanks to their stout defense and a feisty second-quarter performance from Christian McCaffrey. But a takeaway on defense sandwiched by a couple Eagles touchdown drives gave the Eagles a 21-7 halftime lead, and they never looked back.
The ingredients that have contributed to the Eagles’ success all season were once again on display: Hurts showed an understanding of exactly what the moment called for, Nick Sirianni managed the game aggressively and gave the Eagles an edge with his in-game decision-making, the offense grinded away and eventually found answers, and the defense took advantage of an inferior opponent.
It wasn’t the Eagles’ cleanest game, and it didn’t have to be. Hurts threw for a season-low 121 yards, but he didn’t turn the ball over and had to be accounted for in the run game, particularly in the second half, and the Eagles improved to 16-1 this season with him as their starter.
After the game, Hurts joined his teammates for a victory cigar at his locker. Smoke filled the room, and coughs interrupted players’ sentences as they spoke to reporters. As Hurts told the crowd at the Linc in the fourth quarter, this wasn’t the final step, but it certainly was worth celebrating.
Sirianni walked over to the defensive backs, found cornerback Avonte Maddox and safety Marcus Epps, and gave them hugs. Sirianni coached this game like he’s coached every other game this season: without fear. On the Eagles’ first drive of the game, with the offense facing a fourth-and-3, Sirianni went for it. The offense converted (thanks in part to the 49ers not challenging a DeVonta Smith catch) and went on to score a touchdown. Later, with six minutes and 39 seconds left in the second quarter, the Eagles faced a fourth-and-1 from their own 34. Sirianni got aggressive again, keeping the offense on the field. Hurts converted on a QB sneak, and the Eagles would eventually finish that drive with a touchdown to take a 14-7 lead.
“I don’t know how Sirianni walks around with the set of cojones that he has, bro,” left tackle Jordan Mailata said after the game. “That’s crazy. How’s the man walk around like that? Fourth down in a big playoff game? Dude, kudos to him. But big cojones, that guy.”
On the other side of the locker room from Mailata stood Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, who has long been an advocate for incorporating analytics into in-game decision-making. He thinks the data can give the Eagles an edge. In Sirianni, he’s found a coach who’s willing to be aggressive, even when the stakes are high.
“He’s outstanding,” Lurie said of Sirianni. “Much of the offseason is spent on all of those situations, and he’s not surprised by what he needs to do. He knows exactly what he’s gonna do, and he knows it before third down so that he can plan third down. It’s a huge advantage. But again, it’s not the kind of thing you want to talk a lot about. It’s the same with Doug [Pederson]. There’s certain things that are built into our culture, and Nick is very bright. He’s comfortable being aggressive, and I think that’s the way you have to be in today’s NFL.”
When Lurie hired Sirianni two years ago, he told him he was excited about the coach he could become. The message was clear: The Eagles weren’t expecting Sirianni to be a finished product. They were prepared to ride with a coach who could grow into the job. But now, in his second season, Sirianni has the Eagles in the Super Bowl, earlier than anyone could have expected.
The truth is that NFL organizations don’t always know when their championship windows open and close, and that’s understandable. There’s so much randomness involved. You make the decisions that give your team a chance and hope to get a little lucky. That happened for the Eagles this season. They had all 22 of their regular starters healthy and available on Sunday against a Niners team whose depth at quarterback was severely tested.
Outside of Hurts, there may not have been a more important Eagle on Sunday than Haason Reddick. General manager Howie Roseman, the architect of one of the NFL’s most talented rosters, signed Reddick in free agency last offseason, following the organizational philosophy to invest in the offensive and defensive lines. Against the 49ers, Reddick forced a sack fumble on the 49ers’ first offensive possession, bringing his season total to 19.5 sacks in 19 games. Reddick didn’t make the playoffs during his first five years with Arizona and Carolina and is on his third different team in six NFL seasons. He’s now one win away from a Super Bowl ring.
“I would say the biggest thing that I’ve been preaching is just, ‘Enjoy this opportunity. Enjoy this moment,’” Reddick said of his conversations with younger teammates. “Because it is very seldom. You don’t get these often.”
Offensively, this game was a grind for the Eagles. They opened the game with a touchdown drive and then hit a cold spell. But just as they’ve done all season, they eventually found answers. The Eagles finished with 25 first downs—the second most by an opposing offense against the 49ers in a game this season.
Facing DeMeco Ryans’s top-ranked defense proved to be a chess match, according to Mailata. The Eagles would come back to the sidelines after each of their drives, communicate about what the 49ers were doing, and try to come up with solutions. The key, Mailata said, was to lean on the message that offensive line coach and run game coordinator Jeff Stoutland constantly preaches.
“How many plays can we run into a look that we want?” Mailata asked. “Never run a play into a bad look.”
The Eagles used run-pass options to achieve that goal, putting the decision-making into Hurts’s hands. Mailata called Stoutland “a hot mess” during the week. Stoutland was even more intense than usual, yelling at players and calling them out in meetings. The Eagles knew they were facing a tough defense, and Stoutland wanted to make sure the players were prepared. Yet on the sideline during Sunday’s game, Mailata saw a different guy. Stoutland was calm and composed, focused on finding ways to help his players solve problems on the fly.
“He comes in, takes in all the information, and we change the script, try to change the technique that we’re doing, change the calls, man,” Mailata said. “We have a hell of a coach, man. I don’t know what else to say.”
The Eagles ended up running for all four of their touchdowns. Miles Sanders scored from 6 yards out and 13 yards out. Boston Scott added a 10-yard touchdown. The Eagles couldn’t rely on explosive plays against the 49ers. Instead, they strung together three drives of 10-plus plays.
Early in the fourth quarter, the big screen in the stadium scanned the crowd and showed a fan holding up a homemade “We talkin‘ about cactus” sign, a nod to the team’s next destination, Glendale, Arizona. Eagles fans were unusually confident going into this game. They feel like they know this team well, and the coach and quarterback have earned their trust. The supporting cast always seems to give them a chance.
Next up is a trip to the desert to take on the Chiefs. The challenge on defense will be different with Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes on the other sideline—and not a combination of Josh Johnson and a significantly limited Brock Purdy. But the Eagles will go into that game with the same recipe they’ve used all season. They’ll lean on their offensive line to control the Chiefs’ front. They’ll count on their pass rush to get to Mahomes. They’ll go in knowing the moment won’t be too big for Hurts. And Sirianni will call the game with a fearless mentality.
If they check the same boxes they’ve checked 16 times in 19 games, they’ll have a good chance to hoist the Lombardi for the second time in five years.
“I know that we ain’t done yet, and them boys still hungry,” said defensive end Brandon Graham. “Like Jalen said, we’re starving. We’re starving for it.”
