Lance Johnson fought through injuries to play in the Philadelphia Eagles' three playoff games, including the Super Bowl. The offensive lineman suffered a torn adductor injury late in the regular season but held off on undergoing surgery to participate in the Eagles' playoff run.
Johnson was in pain throughout the run, which included an NFC Championship Game win over the San Francisco 49ers. However, the two-time All-Pro wasn't the only one fighting through an injury. Both of the 49ers' quarterbacks suffered injuries in the game. First, Brock Purdy left after tearing the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow. Then, he was forced to return to the field after his backup, Josh Johnson, suffered a concussion.
Purdy couldn't throw the football, though, creating a frustrating situation for the Niners and their watching fanbase.
With the 49ers forced to abandon their passing game, the Eagles cruised to a 31-7 win. Most believe the matchup would have been much more competitive if San Francisco had a healthy quarterback.
"Obviously, players get motivated from that, but from what he said, it's not too far off," Johnson told Rich Eisen this week. "I do think, obviously, if the quarterback doesn't go down, it is a different game. I feel like they obviously weren't able to utilize the team that they were the majority of the second half. And so, yeah, I believe it would have been a lot more competitive game."
Purdy underwent surgery on March 10, and the 49ers hope their second-year quarterback returns in time for Week 1 of the 2023 season.
Johnson added, "It was a major injury that he's still bouncing back from. ... No, it was a weird predicament to be in. I obviously know they were frustrated to have it go down to that."
On December 3, the 49ers and Eagles will face each other at Lincoln Financial Field in a rematch of that NFC Championship bout.
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As the sun rose over the horizon, fans of the San Francisco 49ers came from all over, with great anticipation, as General Manager, John Lynch, slowly trudged his way upon the hill, disappearing into the fog for just a moment, and reappearing with Kyle Shanahan, to proclaim Brock Purdy the heir to the 49ers' QB throne. (Cue the "Circle of Life" track!)
Alright, so it wasn't exactly like that. But the 49ers' brass has made it a point this offseason to ensure everyone knows Purdy is the team's starting quarterback, once he's healthy. And while it may have lacked the drama of a scene from The Lion King, the declaration was just as impactful. (You know, if we could have had Lynch look out over the kingdom, and then hold young Purdy up in front of the team's cheering
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"First, I calculate and then rank each player's season-long contribution metric by team (win share)," Frelund explains. "To sum it up without getting overly technical, the contribution metric (or win share) measures each
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Purdy's return timeline remains up in the air. However, the team will know more once he starts throwing again. Head
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That led the team to sign former Carolina Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold to a one-year deal, allowing him to compete with former first-rounder Trey Lance for the backup job, and potentially even the starting job, should Purdy not be ready for Week 1.
However, Purdy's recovery is reportedly going on track, as head coach Kyle Shanahan said last week that he anticipates that the seventh-rounder will be able to begin throwing this week, right at the three-month line of his
