PHILADELPHIA – This 49ers’ season was bound to go down in franchise lore for its shuffling of injured quarterbacks, and that harrowing theme defined Sunday’s closing act in the NFC Championship Game.
Brock Purdy, the once-unbeaten rookie phenom, injured his throwing elbow on the 49ers’ opening possession in what would drag on as a 31-7 loss to the top-seeded Eagles. Once backup Josh Johnson departed in the third quarter with a concussion, Purdy re-entered to soldier through a hamstrung comeback bid for Kyle Shanahan’s vanishing offense.
The 49ers didn’t just run out of quarterbacks. Their defense was off-kilter from the get-go, allowing four touchdown runs and stacking up penalties in the unfriendly confines of Lincoln Financial Field.
