Brock Purdy injury leads to ugly loss to Eagles, end of 49ers’ promising season

In the end, the San Francisco 49ers and Kyle Shanahan’s quarterback-friendly offense finally ran out of healthy bodies at the most important position on the field.

When rookie Brock Purdy suffered a painful elbow injury on a strip sack by Philadelphia Eagles edge rusher Haason Reddick with 7:03 left in the first quarter, that pretty much ended any chance for the 49ers to advance to Super Bowl LVII (Sunday, Feb. 12, 6:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports App). The Eagles cruised to a 31-7 victory in the NFC Championship Game at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday, with Philadelphia advancing to the Super Bowl for the first time since after the 2017 season. 

Brock Purdy suffers elbow injury in Niners’ loss to Eagles

Brock Purdy’s NFC Championship Game debut was cut short due to an elbow injury suffered in the first quarter of the 49ers’ loss to the Eagles.

“My arm just felt like it stretched out,” Purdy said about the play. “It just felt like really a lot of shocks all over, from my elbow down to my wrist, front and back. Just pain, really all over.”

Purdy, whose forearm was swollen after the game, said he’ll get an MRI on the injury Monday.

During the regular season, San Francisco had already lost projected starter Trey Lance (ankle) and backup Jimmy Garoppolo (foot) to season-ending injuries. Fourth-string quarterback Josh Johnson was added to the roster after Garoppolo suffered a broken foot in a Week 13 matchup against the Miami Dolphins.

Forced into action after Purdy’s injury, Johnson, who had limited reps during the week, appeared uncomfortable in the bright lights of an NFC Championship Game. The NFL journeyman bobbled a snap that led to a fumble recovery and a touchdown for the Eagles at the end of the first half. He was later ruled out due to a concussion he suffered after taking a hit on the opening drive of the second half, forcing an injured Purdy back onto the field.

However, Purdy said afterward that he couldn’t throw a pass beyond 10 yards.

“He was like, ‘Hey, I’m not going to be able to throw the ball at all,'” tight end George Kittle said. “So, you might as well just have fun. That was kind of our message: F— it. What else are you going to do? Are you just going to roll over and die? Or are you going to go out there and be violent and physical, do everything you can to put something good on tape?”

The loss ended a 12-game winning streak for the 49ers, and for a second straight year San Francisco’s season ended in the NFC title game. 

Everything that could go wrong did go wrong for San Francisco.

The 49ers turned the ball over twice, leading to seven points for Philadelphia. San Francisco finished with 11 accepted penalties for 81 yards. The 49ers allowed Philadelphia, the league leader in sacks during the regular season, to bring down San Francisco quarterbacks three times. 

The 49ers only had two healthy quarterbacks active for the game. With both injured during the game, the 49ers did not get to put the best versions of themselves out on the field against the Eagles. But that’s part of the deal in NFL, keeping your players healthy for the critical times of the season at the end of the year.

The Eagles also dominated the highly anticipated matchup in the trenches. Philadelphia ran for 148 rushing yards and held San Francisco to 164 total yards on offense. 

After the game was already in hand, San Francisco left tackle Trent Williams was ejected for tossing K’Von Wallace to the ground during a minor scrum on the field, as tempers flared with just over four minutes remaining in the game.

Tempers flare between Eagles and 49ers

The fight broke out between the Eagles and 49ers late in Philadelphia’s victory to advance to the Super Bowl.

The Eagles took control of the game early. On the opening drive, the big play was DeVonta Smith’s controversial one-handed grab on deep ball to convert on fourth-and three from San Francisco’s 35-yard line. Replays appeared to show that Smith did not have control of the ball when he went to the ground, but the Eagles moved quickly to get the next play off.

Niners coach Kyle Shanahan said he initially did not get a good enough view from replay to challenge the play.

“I was going to throw [the challenge flag] anyways, just hoping, but it looked like he caught it,” Shanahan said. “And then they showed a replay up there [on the scoreboard], which I was shocked that the showed it, but it ended up looking like a catch on the replay, too, because you couldn’t see the other angle.

“So that’s why we didn’t [throw the flag]. But then I was told at the end of the drive they saw a couple angles and it looked like it was incomplete.” 

Two plays later, eagles RB Miles Sanders walked in from six yards out to give Philadelphia a 7-0 lead. 

Christian McCaffrey took over on scoring drive to tie the game for San Francisco, including a bullish, 23-yard run for a touchdown with 8:29 left in the first half. McCaffrey led the 49ers with 106 scrimmage yards.

But that was it for the 49ers on offense, as Purdy’s balky elbow left San Francisco’s only option to throw the ball downfield using McCaffrey at quarterback late in the game.

“It sucks,” McCaffrey said. “You never want to see any of your teammates get hurt, let alone obviously the quarterback position. It’s tough. You’re never out of the fight, though. And we believed it, but it just didn’t turn out our way. We got beat. I wish we had another shot at it with everybody, but that’s life. It’s the way it goes.” 

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.

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