The Philadelphia Eagles are headed back to the Super Bowl.
The San Francisco 49ers were in trouble from the start.
An NFC championship game that was supposed to test the mettle of 49ers sensation Brock Purdy instead went off the rails almost immediately when the rookie quarterback was sidelined on his opening possession with an injured throwing elbow.
It was only a matter of time before the top-seeded Eagles took control, which they eventually did on their way to a 31-7 victory at a chilly but not frigid Lincoln Financial Field.
Philadelphia will face the winner of Sunday's AFC championship game, between Cincinnati and Kansas City, on the NFL's biggest stage Feb. 12 in Glendale, Ariz.
The 49ers were a mess Sunday at the most important position, replacing Purdy with Josh Johnson until that well-traveled journeyman — the team's fourth quarterback of the season — left the game for good in the third quarter with a concussion.
With running back Christian McCaffrey the next option at emergency quarterback, Purdy re-entered the game but largely was relegated to handing off.
The Eagles, behind the NFL's best offensive line, dominated on the ground with four rushing touchdowns.
The showing was deeply disappointing for the 49ers, who were undone not only by the injuries at quarterback but a series of penalties on their increasingly frustrated defense.
There was a near brawl toward the end of the game when both teams were warned to return to their sideline and players from both sides — San Francisco's Trent Williams and Philadelphia's K'Von Wallace — were ejected.
The 49ers, who were flagged three times in the divisional round against Dallas, were penalized 11 times against the Eagles. It was far from a flawless game for officials, who appeared to blow a call on Philadelphia's opening scoring drive — a long pass to DeVonta Smith — after replays showed the ball hitting the ground.
The Eagles are heading to the Super Bowl for the second time in six seasons, having won their first Lombardi Trophy by beating New England at the end of the 2017 season.
San Francisco, which lost to Kansas City in the 2020 Super Bowl, fell short of the Super Bowl for the second consecutive year, having lost in the conference title game to the Rams.
As noted by ESPN Stats & Info, the four quarterbacks used by San Francisco this season ties Chicago, Arizona, Carolina, the New York Jets and Rams for most in the NFL. And that's not counting the 49ers lining up McCaffrey for a non-wildcat snap late in the game.
The whole tenor of Sunday's game changed at midfield on San Francisco's opening possession, when Purdy dropped back and was hit by Eagles safety Haason Reddick. The ball sailed high and forward, and was nearly intercepted by a Philadelphia defender.
It turned out to be a turnover anyway, as officials ruled it a fumble. Worse for the 49ers, Purdy suffered an injured right elbow. San Francisco was 7-0 with him as the starter.
That was only the start of Reddick's devastating first half.
Johnson — he of 20 different NFL stops — entered the game and the Philadelphia crowd roared with anticipation. But the 49ers defense held its ground, and the Eagles followed that fumble recovery with a three-and-out.
San Francisco was even more emboldened when McCaffrey evened the score with an absolutely legendary 23-yard touchdown run, breaking at least three tackles.
For much of the second quarter, the teams played to a standoff, and the relentless fight of the 49ers took all the steam out of the crowd.
But the home team would surge again, mounting a 75-yard touchdown drive that was helped by three penalties by San Francisco's defense. Philadelphia's Miles Sanders — who scored on a six-yard run in the first quarter — was untouched again on a 13-yard run that put the Eagles up, 14-7 with 1:36 remaining in the half.
Then, more problems for the 49ers. Johnson was unable to handle a shotgun snap in his own territory, and Reddick — who also had two sacks in the first half — pounced on the loose ball.
That set up a 10-yard touchdown run by Boston Scott that sent San Francisco to the locker room facing a 21-7 deficit.
