Niners defense and a few key offensive plays get them past the favored Eagles

Choose your label for this 49er Wild Card victory: amazing, surprising, wonderful. All of the above. Yes, this was a great day for the team named for those who came to California to collect the riches found deep in the earth.

Sunday was supposed to be the end of this season for San Francisco’s NFL franchise. They were 5.5-point underdogs to the defending Super Bowl Champions, the Philadelphia Eagles; they were without many key players, especially on defense, and they lost one of their best offensive players, George Kittle, late in the first half; and they were on the road in Philly where the weather was cold and windy, a recipe for gloom and doom.

But the gloom, figurative of course, lasted only two plays from scrimmage. Brock Purdy and Demarcus Robinson connected for 61 yards on the second play that would lead to a touchdown, and also led to the belief that the Niners might be able to get a victory. When things came to a conclusion, it turned out to be a justifiable idea, San Francisco eventually winning 23-19 on a Purdy to Christian McCaffrey pass for a TD with fewer than three minutes to go.

So, the Niners will face the Seahawks in Seattle in the NFC Divisional round, the third time the teams will meet this season. And of course, only two weeks after Seattle defeated the Niners in the last game of the regular season. 

After that game, the possibility of San Francisco winning even in the Wild Card round and advancing seemed unlikely if not improbable. Yet here they are defying expectations and keeping alive the possibility, as remote as it may be, that the 49ers could get to Super Bowl LX to be held in their own stadium in Santa Clara. 

“We were resilient to the end,” said McCaffrey, who caught two scoring passes and rushed for 48 yards. He is supposed to be the heart of the 49ers' offense, and in this game, he very much was.

But the defense was the key for the Niners. The Eagles couldn’t keep control of the ball, making first downs only 31% of the time, as compared to 54.5% by the Niners. A defense that had been criticized more than on one occasion this season played with great effectiveness. 

“The defense came through huge,” said Niners quarterback Purdy, who was a bit erratic, throwing two interceptions but also connecting on several big plays, including the early one to Robinson and the game-winner to McCaffrey. 

“It was not an easy task for us to overcome it,” said Purdy. “There have been times in my career, and there are moments that come to me. I have to believe in myself and take one play at a time.”   

The game plan of Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan deserves credit. The defense arranged by coordinator Robert Saleh did what it needed. 

Shanahan wasn’t to be restrained. He had wide receiver Jauan Jennings throwing as well as catching, and Jennings, a one-time high school quarterback, hit McCaffrey for a 25-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

What next? We’ll find out this coming Sunday. So far, you’d have to say, so good.