The San Francisco 49ers delivered playoff drama in spades Sunday, stunning the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, 23-19, in a wild-card showdown that featured trickery, heroics, and heartbreak.
The pivotal moment came on the first play of the fourth quarter, when wide receiver-turned-backup quarterback Christian Jennings — a former high school QB — threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Christian McCaffrey on a play called the “Skyy Bang reverse pass.” Suggested by offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak and named after wide receiver Skyy Moore, the double-reverse design stunned the Eagles and gave San Francisco a 17-16 lead.
Jennings, who also contributed 66 receiving yards and 48 rushing yards, joined Brock Purdy, Joe Montana, and Steve Young in 49ers history as a postseason QB with multiple career touchdown passes. Purdy added 262 passing yards and a go-ahead 4-yard touchdown pass to McCaffrey late in the fourth quarter, solidifying the win for San Francisco.
The Eagles, meanwhile, never fully recovered from the trick play. Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts finished with just 168 passing yards and one touchdown. Philadelphia managed only 36 total yards on 16 third-quarter plays and squandered a chance to extend a 13-10 halftime lead. Their final drive ended with Hurts incomplete on a fourth-and-11 with 43 seconds remaining.
The game started at a furious pace, with both teams trading touchdowns on opening drives. Purdy completed all three passes on the 49ers’ first drive for 74 yards, finishing with a 2-yard touchdown to Demarcus Robinson. Philadelphia responded with a 1-yard sweep by tight end Dallas Goedert — the first postseason rushing touchdown by a tight end in NFL history — and a 9-yard TD reception from Hurts to Goedert later in the first half. Eddy Pineiro’s 36-yard field goal kept San Francisco close at halftime, 13-10.
The Eagles also faced sideline chaos. Star wide receiver A.J. Brown had to be physically separated from coach Nick Sirianni by chief security after an outburst late in the first half, signaling the mounting frustration in Philadelphia’s ranks.
San Francisco now turns its attention to the top-seeded Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Divisional Round next weekend. The 49ers split the season series with Seattle, winning 17-13 in the opener and losing 13-3 in the finale. Early odds have Seattle as a 6.5-point favorite, but the 49ers hope to replicate their road magic for the second time this season.
The victory was bittersweet, as the 49ers may be without star tight end George Kittle, who was carted off with a right Achilles injury in the first half. Still, the team’s combination of creativity, execution, and guts proved enough to topple the defending champions.
For Philadelphia, questions loom large about the future of offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, whose unit failed to capitalize on opportunities and left the Eagles’ repeat hopes in jeopardy.
San Francisco’s trick-play brilliance and clutch late-game execution left one thing clear: this 49ers team is dangerous, and their postseason story may be far from over.
