Super Bowl LVII: Forty-Niners title hopes are dashed by injury to Brock Purdy in NFC Championship

The San Francisco 49ers’ Super Bowl dreams were dashed by a pair of quarterback injuries during Sunday’s 31-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship game.

Rookie Brock Purdy’s magical streak of being the last pick in the NFL draft to win his first seven starts for the San Francisco 49ers ended when a hit by Philadelphia’s Haason Reddick resulted in an elbow injury. Purdy was forced to return in the second half after backup and NFL official Josh Johnson left with a concussion. Despite his return, Purdy threw just two passes and gave up the rest of the game as he continued to deal with elbow pain.

At that point, the 49ers already trailed the Eagles 21-7 and were helpless in Sunday’s 31-7 loss.

From Trey Lance to Jimmy Garoppolo to Purdy, the 49ers overcame quarterback injuries throughout the season, winning 12 straight games to reach their third conference title game in four years.

Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Haason Reddick, right, causes a fumble by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy during the first half of the NFC Championship NFL football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

From Trey Lance to Jimmy Garoppolo to Purdy, the 49ers overcame quarterback injuries throughout the season, winning 12 straight games to reach their third conference title game in four years.

With their fourth-string quarterback for nearly two quarters, the 49ers (15-5) didn’t stand a chance against the Eagles (16-3).

Purdy, the seventh-round pick out of Iowa State, was outstanding after entering the lineup in December. He passed for 1,374 yards, 13 TDs and four interceptions in the regular season and became a finalist for the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Purdy completed both of his passes before Reddick pierced his right arm on a play that was ruled a fumble. The Eagles recovered the fumble, and the injury turned out to be a game changer.

Johnson, 36, was cut from Denver’s practice squad for his fourth season with the 49ers after Garoppolo was injured in December. He had thrown just two passes this season before coming on to take on Philadelphia’s fierce defense.

Johnson went 7 of 13 for 74 yards with a turnover before Ndamukong Suh’s hit knocked him out of the game.

Selected in the fifth round by the Buccaneers in 2008, Johnson is 1-8 as a starter in 15 seasons with 14 different teams, the most by a player in league history. He also played in the United Football League, Alliance of American Football, and XFL.

Johnson was outplayed in his first playoff experience.

The 49ers played without discipline, committing costly penalties throughout the game. They were penalized 11 times, including a pair of possession-changing penalties.

On Philadelphia’s second scoring drive, pass interference to San Francisco’s Jimmie Ward on an incompletion on third-and-7 gave the Eagles a first down. An illegal contact penalty on Charvarius Ward gave the Eagles another first and ten later in the drive and Miles Sanders ran from the 13-yard line for a 14-7 lead.

Johnson fumbled two plays later, the Eagles recovered at the 49ers 30-yard line, and Boston Scott scored on a 10-yard run to make it 21-7 just before the half.

A kicker roughing penalty on San Francisco’s Jordan Mason gave the Eagles a first down at the 49ers 35-yard line in the third quarter. Jalen Hurts ended that drive with a 1-yard touchdown run for a 28-7 lead.

Niners coach Kyle Shanahan made a mistake on the opening drive that led to Philadelphia’s first touchdown. He didn’t challenge a 29-yard reception from DeVonta Smith on fourth-and-3 to the 49ers 6-yard line. Smith immediately signaled for the Eagles to run a play without huddling and they quickly ran to the line of scrimmage to do so.

Replays showed the ball appeared to touch the ground, so Shanahan missed the opportunity to overturn the call and change possession. Sanders then scored on a 6-yard run.