This past Sunday, the reigning Super Bowl Champions, the Philadelphia Eagles played the No. 6 seed, the San Francisco 49ers, in the Wildcard Round of the 2025-2026 NFL playoffs.
Hoping to repeat as champions and despite controversy with offensive play calling, they ultimately fell short in a 19-23 loss after failing to convert on fourth down with under a minute remaining in the fourth quarter. The last time these two teams played in the playoffs was during the 2022-23 season when Philadelphia hosted the 49ers in the NFC Championship game and beat them 31-7. This game led Philadelphia to Super Bowl 57.
The matchup against San Francisco was competitive from start to finish. Starting off with a deep pass to San Francisco’s wide receiver, Demarcus Robinson for 61 yards, while being covered by All-Pro cornerback Quinyon Mitchell which eventually led to a two-yard touchdown pass to Robinson while once again being covered by Mitchell. Despite Mitchell’s first drive struggles, he played a great game having two interceptions, but unfortunately Philadelphia’s offense couldn’t do anything with that.
Philadelphia’s offense struggled to maintain consistency. Wide Receiver, A.J. Brown dropped the ball three times in the game, one of them late in the fourth quarter, with the game on the line. As stated above, on the defensive side of the ball, Philadelphia had several opportunities to shift momentum in its favor. However, those key defensive stops were not matched by offensive execution. The lack of rhythm of the Eagles offense ultimately put added pressure on the defense late in the game which included a trick play from San Francisco’s offense, where wide receiver Jauan Jennings threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to running back Christian McCaffrey.
Although their season ended earlier than expected, the Eagles’ run was defined by championship expectations and hard-fought performances. Falling short of their goal to repeat as Super Bowl champions will serve as motivation heading into the offseason, as Philadelphia looks to regroup and return to contention next season.
