49ers' players exposed 'lucky' Eagles before Super Bowl
Leading up to Super Bowl LVII, several 49ers picked the Kansas City Chiefs to beat the Philadelphia Eagles. On top of that, San Francisco players called Philadelphia's defense overrated and said the Chiefs, with QB Patrick Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid, would expose them.
That's what they believed the 49ers would have done had rookie QB Brock Purdy not gotten hurt in the first quarter of the NFC Championship Game.
On Sunday, the Chiefs proved the 49ers right, outscoring the Eagles 24-11 in the second half and winning, 38-35.
Here is what star wide receiver Deebo Samuel said on the "I AM ATHLETE" podcast to LeSean McCoy, a former Philadelphia running back:
Niners wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk shared a similar sentiment
Before the game, even 49ers kicker Robbie Gould threw a little shade at the Eagles and QB Jalen Hurts, who had a stellar Super Bowl.
In the second half, Mahomes and Reid — Kansas City's play caller — cooked one of the best defenses in the NFL. On two of Kansas City's touchdowns (Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore), the Eagles didn't have a defender within 10 feet.
In the regular season, Philadelphia totaled 70 sacks -- three sacks from breaking the 1985 Bears record. However, the Eagles didn't sack Mahomes once.
Without that defensive line pressure, the Eagles secondary got exposed, begging the question:
If Purdy had not gotten knocked from the NFC title game, would the Niners have beaten the Eagles and Chiefs?
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