Super Bowl LVII: Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni praises Philadelphians after NFC title game win

Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni was kind to fans after the team’s 31-7 NFC title win over the visiting San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, comparing their hard-working players to the city they represent.

“Obviously this is something you dream about as a kid,” Sirianni, 41, told Fox in the field. ‘All these guys on our team have also dreamed of this all their lives. Just being able to do this together, with a group of men who love each other, who are connected to each other, who would do anything for each other, is so sweet.

“You see this city and the passion they have for this team,” Sirianni continued. “We really appreciate these fans. Look at this place. There’s no place like it in the NFL. And it is a working city, a working city.

“We tend to think that’s the type of team we have with the guys we have on those O lines, D lines, but it doesn’t stop at the O lines, D lines. We’ve got tough guys everywhere. We have guys who give up on each other everywhere.

Fox’s Tom Rinaldi then asked for Sirianni’s message to his players.

“I’m going to have to think about that,” Sirianni said. ‘I’m going to enjoy this one right now…

“But it probably won’t be that different than it has been for the last 18 or 19 weeks,” he continued. ‘So we’re going to go out, we’re going to enjoy this, then we’re going to get ready for the Super Bowl. One more left.

Jalen Hurts had one of Philadelphia’s four rushing touchdowns and the Eagles rocketed to the Super Bowl, forcing both San Francisco quarterbacks out of the game with injuries and beating the injured 49ers on Sunday.

The Eagles, who won the Super Bowl five years ago under a different coach and quarterback, will try to do it again behind the formidable duo of Hurts and Sirianni. Philadelphia will play either the Cincinnati Bengals or former Eagles coach Andy Reid’s Kansas City Chiefs.

“Obviously, this is something you dream about as a kid. All these guys on the team have also dreamed of this their whole lives,” Sirianni said. “Just being able to do this together with a group of men who love each other, who are connected to each other, who will do anything for each other, is pretty sweet.”

Miles Sanders ran for two touchdowns and linebacker Haason Reddick scored the hit that forced rookie 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy out of the game with an elbow injury. Reddick also recovered a fumble from Purdy’s replacement, Josh Johnson, who later suffered a concussion.

That forced Purdy back into the game, but his injury was clearly a factor as the 49ers nearly gave up on throwing the ball, even when trailing by multiple scores.

San Francisco’s bad luck at quarterback ultimately proved too much to overcome as their 12-game winning streak ended. The Niners lost both Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo to season-ending injuries, and Purdy, the final pick in the April draft, lost as a starter for the first time.

Philadelphia police greased traffic and light poles in what often turned out to be a futile attempt to slow down the ensuing revelry. But a city that has been hungry for a championship now has its beloved Birds in the Super Bowl just three months after the Philadelphia Phillies reached the World Series.