Thanks to a strong defensive performance and effective running game, the Philadelphia Eagles advance to the Super Bowl. The San Francisco 49ers make too many mistakes and commit too many penalties.

The Philadelphia Eagles are the first team to advance to Super Bowl LVII, as Head Coach Nick Sirianni’s team defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31-7 (21-7) in the NFC Championship Game.

In the 57th final game for the Vine Lombardi Trophy, the best team of the regular season will meet the winner of the AFC final game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the host Kansas City Chiefs.

Miles Sanders and Boston Scott with three rushing touchdowns set the stage early in the first half, and Jalen Hurts added a quarterback keeper and fourth running touchdown in the third quarter.

In addition, the defence – especially in the person of the outstanding Haason Reddick – hardly allowed anything to happen. Reddick managed two sacks, provoked a ball loss and also grabbed a ball that was knocked out of bounds.

Both 49ers quarterbacks injured

One sufferer of Reddick’s performance was San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy. The rookie was injured on the 49ers’ first drive, which ended in a fumble when Reddick hit Purdy on the elbow with his hand before throwing, knocking the ball out of his hand.

Purdy remained injured on the sidelines from then on, with Josh Johnson taking over at the passing position. San Francisco’s fourth-string quarterback did little until he too went down with a concussion early in the third quarter, and Purdy took over again.

However, the return of the quarterback did not help the 49ers to increase their lead. Due in part to too many mistakes and penalties, the Eagles controlled the game with their defence and running game.

Jalen Hurts not very noticeable – but effective

Eagles quarterback and MVP candidate Hurts remained inconspicuous except for a few highlight plays, such as a 29-yard pass on fourth down and three yards to cover, but was also little challenged and controlled the action with short passes and the running game.

For the 49ers, only Christian McCaffrey managed to make an impact. The running back consequently scored the only touchdown for the Californians.

This is the fourth Super Bowl appearance for the Eagles after the 1980, 2004 and 2017 seasons; in 2017 they defeated the New England Patriots in a memorable game.