The 49ers Are Ready for Revenge Against the Eagles
Last season’s NFC Championship Game left the San Francisco 49ers with a lingering feeling of “what if” after they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles. The injury to quarterback Brock Purdy early in the game was a devastating blow that ultimately led to the Eagles’ victory and kept the 49ers from making a Super Bowl return.
Eagles pass rusher Haason Reddick, who dealt the game-changing strip sack to Purdy, has challenged the 49ers to back up their offseason talk when the two teams meet again in Week 13 at Lincoln Financial Field.
“Talk is cheap,” Reddick noted after the Eagles’ win against the Buffalo Bills. “They get to come back in the Linc. It was a lot of boo hoos last year, a lot of crying, a lot of what if, a lot of this, a lot of that. They get a chance to come back in here, line that s–t up and prove it again.”
The 49ers, now on a three-game winning streak, are eager to prove themselves as the NFC’s best team. With the Eagles holding the conference’s No. 1 seed and the 49ers at No. 2, a win in Philadelphia is crucial if they want a shot at a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the playoffs.
The sentiment within the 49ers organization is that last season’s meeting with the Eagles would have been much different with Purdy under center for the full game. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel believes that with Purdy at quarterback, the game would not have been close, emphasizing that the team is not being “sour grapes,” but speaking facts.
Fellow star wideout Brandon Aiyuk is also eager for the 49ers to prove their worth, expressing how sickening it was for their momentum to be cut short last season after feeling like it was their time to make a deep playoff run.
Now, in 2023, the 49ers believe it could very well be their time again. Next Sunday in Philadelphia, they have the chance to prove it as they face off against the Eagles in a highly-anticipated rematch.