49ers momentum can carry them past Eagles in NFC Championship

The 49ers are back in the NFC Championship game for a second year in a row, this time against the Eagles, and momentum is on the Niners’ side.

A hard-fought game between two historic organizations and good ole’ fashion rivals was everything many viewers expected. The Dallas Cowboys went into Santa Clara for a divisional-round showdown and gave the San Francisco 49ers a good run for their money.

A valiant effort from the Cowboys, but in the end, the Niners are heading back to the NFC Championship game to face the Philadelphia Eagles.

The road to the Lombardi Trophy has been nothing short of thoroughly entertaining right from the start of the season. The 2023 49ers had their fair share of storylines and/or distracting moments. They went from a beloved locker-room veteran in quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, virtually saying his last goodbyes, to restructuring and then resigning him before the season began. They started the year with their presumed franchise quarterback, Trey Lance, who only lasted about a game and a half.

Shortly after his stint and injury, the Niners reverted back to the ol’ wily vet, Garoppolo. He manned the ship for the following 10 weeks before suffering an unfortunate foot injury of his own.

So, for those keeping track at home, two quality quarterbacks are out, which means the third time’s a charm, right?

Right?

Brock Purdy has driven 49ers’ momentum all the way into NFC Championship game vs. Eagles

Fast forward to the NFC Championship game, and now there’s a third-string QB guiding his team into another hostile environment.

This time around, the stakes are much higher for Brock Purdy and the Niners as they look to advance to Super Bowl LVII.

However, San Francisco will face its most daunting challenge of the season as they’ll be going up against a top-two defense in total yards per game. Some may call it “an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object,” which is quite an accurate description of this one.

The battle in the trenches for both opposing lines will go a long way in determining the outcome of this game, as the Eagles will be entering Sunday’s matchup with a league-leading 70 sacks, while Purdy has only been taken down 11 times and the Niners, as a whole, have only been sacked 31 times.

Another glaring positive the Eagles have going for them is the fact that they have four legitimate players with double-digit sacks who can get after the quarterback during the course of an entire game. San Francisco has been fairly decent at protecting its signal-callers with stout O-line play and by deploying the quick pass game, though.

Read More: 49ers vs. Eagles: Experts predict winner of NFC Championship game

Not only will the Niners have to contend with another stacked roster playing at a high level, but they’ll also be going up against a raucous crowd who’s just as anxious for a Super Bowl win as The Faithful are.

The whole key to offensive fluidity and success will be for head coach Kyle Shanahan to continue putting Purdy in advantageous positions. The great thing about being in Shanahan’s offense is not having added pressure of playing “hero ball” all the time. With various playmakers at almost every position offensively, Purdy’s job becomes a tad bit easier to manage. As long as he keeps a clean turnover sheet with above-average game-manager ability, the Niners will find themselves in a great spot by the end of the game.

It’s what has helped Purdy keep the momentum rolling forward for San Francisco.

The 49ers have a rare opportunity to finally capture that elusive sixth title. If they are to complete the mission this time around, the Niners must continue playing mistake-free football while flawlessly executing their offense.

If the defense can sustain its play with solid contributions from the special teams, the next stop will be Arizona!