There was, for the slightest of moments, a hesitation before everyone at Lincoln Financial Field understood it to be over, before Eagles 31, 49ers 7 was not just inevitable but official.
Third-and-goal, less than a minute left in the third quarter Sunday, the Eagles leading by 14 points and 1 yard away from a touchdown that would bury a tough but shorthanded 49ers team, and Jalen Hurts took the snap and surged forward a few inches into a pile-up of monster-truck men, then kept pushing, then finally crossed into the end zone. And only when two officials raised their hands like goalposts and fireworks crackled in the ink-black sky could the 67,000 in the stands scream in joy and relief.
Only then could the 49ers cast aside any thought of a miraculous comeback. Only then could the Eagles give each other head rubs and blow kisses to the fans and know in their bones, even with another quarter yet to play, that they were going to the Super Bowl.
