The 29th of January brought happiness to many fans around Pennsylvania and even worldwide, as the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31-7 to advance to Super Bowl LVII next Sunday.

The set-and-stone matchup was expected to be a very competitive game. The money line favored the Eagles only by 2.5 points, which meant betters thought the game would be so close, it would be decided within one score.  Both teams were fired up all week leading up to the game.

It is clear that this was more than just a game. Both teams created hype videos to energize their home city. In addition to videos, gatherings at iconic Philly monuments were in abundance this past weekend.

As with any important Philly sporting events, the city police and security made sure to grease up the light poles to keep Philly’s chaotic but passionate fans off of them and away from danger.

The Rocky Balboa statue is a Philly icon that represents grit, determination, and pride. 49ers fans gathered around the statue before the big game and hung quarterback Brock Purdy’s jersey and 49ers clothing all over it. Obviously, this antagonized many Eagles fans. 

Another one of Philly’s great monuments is the Art Museum which is where the city of Philly showed its anticipation and readiness for the weekend’s game through a mind-blowing Eagle’s drone show. This amazed fans and really put them in a great mood. 

Many schools, including our own Norristown Area High School, made it to the Philadelphia station. Our band and cheerleaders all decked out in Eagle’s gear to show our school spirit for the team. Eagles fans all over the Philladelphia area not only this week but all season have shown unison and love for the team, the city, and each other.

 Gameday arrived and a lot of people were hyped. Local fans can be seen loading their cars with pizza, wings, and other party foods from local restaurants for their gameday get-togethers and watch parties. Many parties were formed among Eagles fans as they waited cautiously to find out who is heading to the 2022 Super Bowl. 

Minutes before kickoff the teams headed out of their locker rooms both having crazy cool walkouts. The Eagles were led out by well-known rapper Lil Uzi Vert wearing a personalized jersey, as his hit song “I Just Wanna Rock” played through speakers. This scared the opponents and gave viewers chills because of how scary the Eagle’s walkout was. This was because this scene showed it was over even before it started.

The 49ers came out with a . . .we’ll say it was a walkout. It wasn’t too bone-thrilling like Philly’s but still was cool. Deebo Samuel lead the pack with a big chain on and someone carried a large boombox. This showed they were fierce but were they fierce enough?

Anita Baker sang the national anthem to kick off the National Football Conference game. The Eagles started with the ball and quickly got good field position as Boston Scott received the kickoff all the way to the 35-yard line. Fans and players were hyped and loud. On the first play, Jalen Hurts says he could barely hear as it was so loud at the LINC. The 49er’s star veteran Middle Linebacker Fred Warner and their star Defensive end Nick Bosa were both injured on the first drive. They both found their way back into the game though, which was a sigh of relief for 49ers fans and players. 

The Eagles were stopped well short of the first down marker and Nick Siriani decided to stay out there. San Francisco brought the pressure on fourth down and almost sacked Jalen Hurts, but Hurts launched a desperation pass toward Devonta Smith, who made a magnificent play, and the ball found its way into his hands. Miles Sanders ran in the first score of the game in a seven-yard run that put the Eagles on top 7-0 after Jake Elliot made the extra point.

Linebacker Haason Reddick made a fantastic play on 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, which after being reviewed by Siriani, was ruled a fumble and an Eagles ball. Purdy was forced out of most of the game after this because of how his elbow turned after this sack and strip. This forced San Fransico to bring in their fourth-string quarterback Josh Johnson for a lot of the game until he too would be forced out with a concussion. 

A couple drives later, star running back for the 49ers Christian McCaffrey tied the game at 7 after a 23-yard rushing touchdown. This score was insane and he showed why he should’ve been selected for this weekend’s Pro Bowl after being scammed. McCaffrey pushed through Eagle defenders, and it seemed like he couldn’t be stopped. The next drive and most of this game was a rushing game. Eagles backs Sanders and Kenneth Gainwell both helped the Birds on the next drive, resulting in a Sanders 13-yard touchdown. This put the home team up 14-7 over the Niners. 

It was clear that Josh Johson was a little scared in the pocket, only dumping short passes off to McCaffrey or tight end George Kittle. Samuel also helped them out, but the 49ers couldn’t get past the Eagles’ terrifying defense. Johnson later fumbled in that same drive and the ball was picked up by Reddick at the 49ers’ 30-yard line with 1:11 left in the first half. The third-string running back on the Eagles, Boston Scott, scored a 10-yard rushing touchdown. The Eagles had a big lead going into the half at 21-7. Eagles fans felt happy at this point because even though it still was only a 2-score game, they knew the Eagles knew how to finish off a big score late in the game.

Soon after the third quarter started the 49ers’ fourth-string quarterback was forced out of the game with a concussion after being pulled down by longtime NFL vet tackle Ndamukong Suh. A couple of drives later, the Eagles punched in their fourth rushing touchdown, but this time it was by Jalen Hurts as he snuck the ball into the endzone from the 1-yard line. This was Hurts’ 15th touchdown of the season including playoffs, the most by a quarterback in NFL history. 

The score was vastly in favor of Philly now as it was 28-7 with 43 seconds remaining in the third quarter. 49ers coach Kyle Shannahan could be seen throughout the whole game cursing at the refs after some very weird calls on both teams. San Francisco threw one last hurrah on fourth down and two to go, but Samuel was swarmed four yards back by tackle Flecher Cox and cornerback Avonte Maddox. 

On the next drive, the 49ers failed to keep the Eagles out of points as Jake Elliot kicked a perfect 31-yard field goal right through the uprights to extend Philly’s lead to 31-7. The Birds pulled the vast majority of their starters after this drive. 

The Eagles stopped the 49ers on third down to make it fourth and Samuel took the handoff. He was met by safety Reed Blakenship, which forced Samuel to fumble, and Blankenship recovered it quickly. This ended all of the 49ers’ hopes of moving on and like any other team that doesn’t make something they want to, the tensions run high throughout them. A big fight broke out between both teams and eventually there were punches being thrown by both teams. Trent Williams, the 49er’s star veteran, got ejected after shoving and punching Eagle’s K’Von Wallace. Wallace also was ejected after his response to this shove and punch as he did the punching part right back at Williams. This was the end of the game after a couple of backup QB Gardner Minshew kneel downs. The Philadelphia Eagles have clinched a spot in Super Bowl LVII with a 31-7 triumph over the San Fransico 49ers. 

The Eagles will play the Kanas City Chiefs after the Chiefs beat the Cincinnati Bengals with seconds left by a field goal by kicker Harrison Butker. This game between the Eagles and Chiefs will be held on Sunday, February 12, 2023, at 6:30 PM. Make sure to root for our Philadephia Eagles as they strive to be Super Bowl Champions yet again