Everyone is looking forward to the NFC Championship Game rematch between the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13. The latter won that game easily, beating the Niners 31-7. However, San Francisco lost its quarterback, Brock Purdy, early in the contest. He suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow.
Purdy's backup, Josh Johnson, exited with a concussion.
The misfortune ended the 49ers' Super Bowl hopes, as the team couldn't pass for much of the game. Players and coaches entered the matchup confident in their game plan, believing that they could have won if not for the injury to Purdy.
"So I'm not saying I'm guaranteeing we would have won, but we sure as hell believed we were going to," head coach Kyle Shanahan said in July. "And we were excited for that game. And we felt really good about our game plan, coaches and players. We felt really good about the matchup, and it was going to be a hell of a game. And to not be able to play that and to just lose it that way was a different thing to stomach."
Wide receiver Deebo Samuel believes the one-sided contest might have been flipped with a healthy Purdy at the helm of the 49ers offense.
"Just look how well our defense was actually playing, keeping [QB] Jalen [Hurts] in the pocket, which he doesn't like to do at all," Samuel said ahead of the Super Bowl. "So the [Eagles] offense wasn't doing anything. Our defense was doing what they were supposed to, and I feel like if Brock was in as our quarterback and how our offense moves, I don't think it would have been close."
Wide receiver Brando Aiyuk took his pre-Super Bowl interview opportunities to state that the Eagles got "extremely lucky."
"We have a talented football team," Aiyuk added. "We have, hands down, the best football team in the league. Hands down. Hands down. I'm not even about to argue with anybody who thinks they should argue that."
Eagles pass rusher Haason Reddick, the player whose hit on Purdy injured the quarterback, has heard all the offseason chatter. He has two games circled on his calendar—a Super Bowl rematch against the Kansas City Chiefs and the rematch against the 49ers.
"Man, a lot of chirping, a lot of back and forth over social media about what could have and should have happened," Reddick told Rich Eisen this week. "So I'm looking forward to that one. No game more than that one."
Did Reddick ever have the urge to respond to the comments?
"I never weighed in on it," the Eagles star said. "For me, I watched, I've seen things that guys were saying. Deebo Samuel, [LB] Fred [Warner], a lot of these guys that came out and talked about it. And you know, I respect them. I respect them for their opinion and their thought and their belief in their team.
"For me, I'm the same way. I believe in my team, I believe in my teammates, and I feel the same way. So for me, it's like, bring it on. You all kept on talking. You all talked about this all offseason, through the Super Bowl, after the playoff game. So it's like, better be prepared, man, because I know I will be, and I know that I'm going to do my best to make sure the team is ready, too."
The 49ers and Eagles will face each other on December 3 at Lincoln Financial Field.
