The Philadelphia Eagles advanced to their fourth Super Bowl in franchise history after a dominant NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers, who were hampered by injuries to Brock Purdy and backup Josh Johnson.
A big 31-7 victory was never really in doubt as the luckless 49ers dealt with yet more injury misfortune in the biggest game of their season.
Already without quarterbacks Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo, surprise rookie star Purdy – the final pick in the 2022 draft – left the game at the end of the team's opening drive after a Haason Reddick strip sack saw his right elbow injured.
Johnson unconvincingly came in for Purdy, only to be ruled out after his head hit the ground and he was checked for a concussion. Purdy returned but was clearly limited, seemingly unable to throw the ball as the 49ers' season ended in frustrating fashion.
Miles Sanders had wandered straight up the middle for the opening touchdown, but the 49ers then kept the Eagles in check following Purdy's injury and levelled the game via a remarkable 23-yard Christian McCaffrey TD as he ran through a series of tackles.
The contrast of those two scores epitomised the game for these two teams, however, and Sanders again found a gap to restore the Eagles' lead.
Boston Scott ran in another and, with Purdy repeatedly handing the ball off to a stifled 49er rushing offense, Jalen Hurts also forced his way into the endzone to build an unassailable lead.
Early chaos benefits Eagles
No team scored more points on their opening offensive possessions in the regular season than the Eagles, but the drive that led to Sanders' early TD set in motion a manic first quarter. It included a 29-yard pass for a fourth down conversion that replays showed Devonta Smith appeared to drop. That was not spotted until after play resumed.
The 49ers had already seen Fred Warner take a trip to the blue tent, and Purdy's injury was not their last of the quarter as Nick Bosa was wiped out on the sideline. Meanwhile, Johnson came in for Purdy and was likewise promptly run over by the relentless Reddick.
An unforgettable quarter ended with the Eagles claiming – unsuccessfully – a punt had hit an overhead wire. The 49ers started the second quarter with the ball, their fourth-string QB and a 7-0 deficit.
Running to the Super Bowl
The 49ers paid the price both for their injuries and a sequence of understandably frustrated penalties, but there was also a complete mismatch in the run game.
While this should have been a close call between the Eagles' most successful run offense and the 49ers' second-most successful run defense, four TDs on the ground saw Philly set a single-season record across the regular season and postseason, improving to 39 rushing scores for the year.
Lamb has support of Cowboys team-mates as contract holdout continues
CeeDee Lamb has the sympathy of some Dallas Cowboys team-mates as he continues his training camp holdout in a bid to earn a blockbuster new contract.
Fifth-year receiver Lamb is set to make just under $18million in 2024 but is seeking a deal that would put him among the NFL's highest-paid WRs, with an annual salary of around $32m.
With no progress made in negotiations, he is yet to report to the team's preseason training camp, which began on Wednesday.
Guard Zack Martin and running back Ezekiel Elliott have both staged holdouts of their own in the past, the former missing three weeks of training last year before getting an adjustment to his contract and the latter missing the entirety of preseason in 2019.
That stand-off ultimately ended with Elliott landing a six-year, $90m contract that included $50m in guaranteed money, and he sympathises with Lamb's position.
"It's really tough because you go through your first three or four years and you guys are on the same side, and this is the first time that now you're going against each other," Elliott said on the dynamics of holding out.
"So, you've got to have a little thick skin. There's some little extra stuff that comes with it, but at the end of the day, we all have the same goal.
"The team understands that CeeDee needs to handle his business and CeeDee understands that he has the support of the team behind him.
"Just stay in shape, which it looks like he's doing, and be ready to go once the deal gets done."
Martin agrees Lamb will have no problems with getting up to speed when he does return, saying: "He's just got to know that everyone in that locker room has got his back.
"We know hopefully he'll be out here sooner rather than later."
Lamb had 135 receptions from 181 targets through the 2023 season, which ended with the Cowboys suffering a stunning wild-card defeat to the Green Bay Packers.
Both of those figures were league highs, while only the Miami Dolphins' Tyreek Hill (1,799 yards, 13 TDs) bettered his 1,749 regular-season receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.
Packers, QB Love agree to four-year, $220m contract
Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers have agreed to a four-year extension worth $220million, tying him as the highest-paid quarterback in NFL history, according to multiple sources.
Love, who has only had one full season as an NFL starter, will earn $55m annually with $155m guaranteed and a $75m signing bonus, also the largest in league history.
His yearly salary ties him with Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow and Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence for highest in NFL history.
After finally trading Aaron Rodgers in April 2023, Love, 25, became the Packers’ undisputed starter. He struggled through the first seven games last season and Green Bay were 2-5 but he took off and the Packers finished 9-8 and earned a wild-card spot.
In the Packers’ final eight games of the regular season, Love had 16 touchdowns and one interception. In a 48-32 playoff win over the Dallas Cowboys, he had a near-perfect 157.2 passer rating with 16 of 21 completions for 272 yards, three touchdowns and no picks.
Love completed 372 of 579 passes (64.2%) for 4,159 yards last season with 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
His 32 TD passes ranked second in the NFL behind Dallas’ Dak Prescott (36).
All that production came while Love was throwing to the most productive, young group of receivers since at least 1970. The Packers’ 302 receptions, 3,642 receiving yards and 31 receiving touchdowns are the most by a team’s group of first-or second-year pass catchers since the AFL/NFL merger.
Green Bay also became the youngest team in that same span to win a playoff game with an average age of 25 years and 214 days.
Packers, QB Love agree to 4-year, $220 million contract
Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers have agreed to a four-year extension worth $220 million, tying him as the highest-paid quarterback in NFL history, according to multiple sources.
Love, who has only had one full season as an NFL starter, will earn $55 million annually with $155 million guaranteed and a $75 million signing bonus, also the largest in league history.
His yearly salary ties him with Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow and Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence for highest in NFL history.
After finally trading Aaron Rodgers in April 2023, Love, 25, became the Packers’ undisputed starter. He struggled through the first seven games last season and Green Bay was 2-5 but he took off and the Packers finished 9-8 and earned a wild card spot.
In the Packers’ final eight games of the regular season, Love had 16 touchdowns and one interception. In a 48-32 playoff win over the Dallas Cowboys, he had a near-perfect 157.2 passer rating with 16 of 21 completions for 272 yards, three touchdowns and no picks.
Love completed 372 of 579 passes (64.2 percent) for 4,159 yards last season with 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
His 32 TD passes ranked second in the NFL behind Dallas’ Dak Prescott (36).
All that production came while Love was throwing to the most productive, young group of receivers since at least 1970. The Packers’ 302 receptions, 3,642 receiving yards and 31 receiving touchdowns are the most by a team’s group of first-or second-year pass catchers since the AFL/NFL merger.
Green Bay also became the youngest team in that same span to win a playoff game with an average age of 25 years and 214 days.
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