The 49ers delegitimized the Eagles NFC Championship Sunday 

Personally, I'd feel validated as a 49ers fan if they win it all. this win was an appetizer. 49ers want the main course = The Super Bowl

Weeks ago, you started burying Brock Purdy, now he’s winning again and everyone is jumping to join him in the bus.😂😂😂

Stephen A is damn right! The 49ers would've stomped the Eagles in the NFC Championship last season.

I was humble before this game. I said our team didnt look like they did last season. I said these wins were ugly, and that the Eagles would get taken advantage of for not doing much in the first half. I said a team will see that, be better, and take advantage of that. As much as i wanted Philly to win, i knew it was high hopes. I said i was nervous about the Eagles facing the 49ers this season because of how bad we look. Accept the L. Hold Philly accountable for that. The defense didnt seem interested, the offense couldnt get anything started or answered. Im an Eagles fan till i die. I also wont stop being real about it either. I love football and i love my Eagles, but you gotta hold your team accountable. No excuses.

When Deebo said it, we all knew he wasnt lying, when healthy, its not even close

As a Niners Fan Stephen A.... you have completely sum up the feelings of the Team and the 49ers faithful. I tip my hat to you.

Last year was last year. Yesterday was yesterday. Today is today. 2 birds down. 3 more to go. Go Niners!!!

In the NFC championship game, it was only a 10 point game late into the 3rd quarter. Think about how good the 49ers are that it was a 10 point game still

Let’s keep it rolling 49ers let’s get that number 1 seed

Born in 93 as a Niner fan losing those 2 super bowls with Kap then Jimmy please let this be the year I get to witness my team winning a super bowl that's all I need

What a funeral speech from SAS . Let's go NINERS

100% truth my guy!!! Even people I know that aren't 49er fans said the same thing last year after that game to me, that we would've won that game if Purdy didn't get hurt. That's why this is the year!!! LET'S GO 9ERS!!!!!

At the end of the day no team wants to see SF in the playoffs 💯

SAS is 100% right, 49ers would have def won last yrs football game. Not in blow out fashion, but they def would have won if Purdy didn't get hurt

Yesterday was yesterday. We gotta win a chip. Stay healthy go 9ers.

I don't think it would've been a blowout but the 9ers definitely would've beaten the Eagles, especially considering CMC got a TD without any QB left in the NFCCG. Kyle's playcalling was on full display when he had a healthy QB1 present, and the motion trickery he showed on Sunday would've gotten to the Eagles for sure. I mean, Hufunga is out for the szn and Greenlaw got ejected, yet them boys still brought the hammer 😬

Thank you Stephen! Just never felt real last year and now we all know why.

That really sucked us loosing all our Quarterbacks. I feel like it would have been a great game. It doesn't mean we would have beaten the Eagles. Just that it would have been fun to watch. But it does remind us all in life. Without our health we cannot do much. Have a Great day my friend. Best Dave

I'm a Niners fan and SA is wrong. 2022 Team rankings: PHI vs. SF Defense: 8th vs. 1st Offense: 3rd vs. 6th 2023 Team rankings: PHI vs. SF Defense: 24th vs. 3rd Offense: 4rd vs. 2nd Philly's D last year was top 10.... now they are ranked in the bottom 3rd. Their linebackers and their secondary are their Achilles Heel this year, and Shany knew this and his game plan showed this. PHI had no answer and SF tore up the middle of the field. There's no way to make the apples-to-apples case SA is... it's just ludicrous...

Die hard 9er fan but, this does NOT delegitimize the eagles being the NFC champs last season. Would we have beat them last year with Brock….probably but, WE DIDN’T. It’s not like they went to the bowl and got smacked up, they damn near won. Let’s just stay humble & healthy and finish this thing with a ring in February. BANG BANG 9ER GANG

No one should ever use the de-legitimize as an analogy of a Win. The reason the 49ers didn’t have a QB left last year was because the defense of the Eagles did their job. That’s it - the 49ers saw the same tape as everyone else and failed to defend their starter and backup. So this recent game doesn’t de-legitimize last year. It only shows where the teams have made adjustments or didn’t and the 49ers won. That’s it

Niners fan here. Nah, SAS. Coulda woulda shoulda. Had we protected our 3rd string about in the NFCCG, then we would have found out what we found out yesterday. It doesn’t delegitimize Eagles’ Super Bowl appearance. They won that game fair and square. It was merely a message to the Eagles and the rest of the league that this year’s chip is going through us be it on the road or in our house.

Stephen A, TRUTH BOMB!!! You've just dropped a nuclear truth bomb and spoke what every Niner fan already knew. Loss 4x QBs w/CMC-Deebo filling in before BP13 *came back out* after that just to run the ball. We never "competed" and wanted blood. The NFL agreed to this travesty so much that rules were changed to hopefully prevent this from happening again.

Look, I'm very happy the 49ers are winning, but that's simply not true. Neither team is the same team they were back then. I'm not only talking about personnel. We're watching a 49ers team with a quarterback who has had time to integrate, and this affects both him and the people he plays with. The team as a whole has had more time to gel. The healthy 49ers today would very likely _also_ handily beat the healthy 49ers of last season. What we should say is that we don't know what the result would have been last season if Purdy played. We don't even really know what will happen this season if these two teams play again. Certainly we should consider the 49ers heavy favorites in a rematch. But we certainly have seen two teams play in a single season with large differences in the results.

LETS GO 9ERS, lets keep gettin the W’s 💪🏻

Are you sick? So we gotta play Dallas, Chiefs and Bills (in which we won by the way) in 2 weeks before we play SAN FRAN and THIS is what you think of our birds??? It’s cool… Stay with your assessment… It’s still BirdGang!!!

I'm a Niners fan, but this take is very disrespectful towards the Eagles. The Eagles defensive line was the best in the league last year. Far better than this year. The only thing that would've been different would be the final score. Last year's NFC championship would've gone either way but to try to deligitimize the win is a bad take.

As a Niner Fan I agree with Smith. No QB , 3 and out caused the defense to tire out. Unfair game we would have won!

Smith is the MAN! He tells it like it is.

I'm going to bookmark this and watch it every morning before work... That way I'll always have a grin on my face. 😂

Both teams played differently last year, Eagles defense was better last year. Each game is different. Plain and simple, either you have it that day for the game or you don't.

I disagree with Stephen A on this. Last year was last year, and this year is this year. This year doesn't de-legitimize anything from last year. Last year, the Eagles' offense was a machine. This year, that machine is the 49ers. Let's not forget: the 49ers' #1 defense last year fell apart at Philly because they were physically manhandled, and that had nothing to do with Purdy's injury. Then, post-Super Bowl, the Eagles lost two coordinators who were just starting to build experience and get into a rhythm. This year, the Eagles have two new coordinators: one extremely green (Brian Johnson) and one with an up-and-down resume (Sean Desai) who have clearly shown they're going through growing pains. Many of the same players are a year older (and a year slower). The Eagles lost pretty much their entire linebacking corps to free agency and have been forced to play practice-squad-level linebackers. The trenches haven't played as well. Bottom line: Different year, different team. Sure, in the minds of the 49ers, they used the "de-legitimate" belief to fuel them for this game (and it worked; credit to them), but these aren't the same teams that met in the NFC title game.

Ok. Niner fan here. And this is total bullshit. Did we show them what would happen if our QB played? Hell yeah we did. BUT they knocked out our QB fair and square. Shanahan almost ended purdy’s career before it began. Championship NOT deligitimized. They came in with the most fearsome pass rush in the NFL. We didn’t respect it and we got screwed by it. Just like they came onto the field on Sunday and totally underestimated us. The real difference, our loss was disappointing. Their loss was embarrassing.

Nobody does it better than my man Stephen A because he tells it like it is

👏👏👏 Standing ovation for Stephen A!!! Perfect!! Thank you!!

Purdy has improved since last yrs NFC champ game

That game was a statement game. That the Niners putting the rest of the NFC and the league on notice. Keep a even head niners. We still got work to do.

STAY OFF THE WEEEEEEEEEEEEED!!!!! 😂😂.

If anyone beats SF in the playoffs (and they are healthy) it WILL be an upset. The Niners are the best team in the league and anything short if a SB is a let down

I get Stephen's schtick, but sometimes, his way of presenting an opinion makes me smile..... This is one of those times.

The quote from Debo right before the Super Bowl saying that if they had Brock healthy they would beat the Eagles and it wouldn’t have been close delegitimizes them after what happened yesterday….. it was fact.

this is why the eagles fan's talk was so out of line. Absolutely fraudulent slander they preached all year long. And wise fan would know they got off easy with the QB going out.. But they swore having a QB makes no difference. Insanity

Philly fan. We didn't want that game as much as the Niners. Cause... the Montra of game to game missed the fact of how important this game was. The Niners put a Star on it!

Dont forget about 3rd and Juawan!!!

to make such a comment is Ludacris, these teams aren't the same, all their linebackers in the off season, and the stretch of games philly played prior was insane. we will see them again in the playoffs

Stephen A been having good takes lately

There. You said it. The second coming of Joe Montana. You just watch. He has all the moves. This could be the 1980's all over again.

Stop It! Eagles deserved and earned everything they accomplished last year. They were absolutely dominant. #GoNiners

I’m a niners fan. It doesn’t matter. They beat us because we couldn’t stay healthy. The ability to stay healthy is a skill.

Just stay healthy 49ers.

Niner fan here. This is a terrible take. It’s not the same Eagles defense from last year. They have lost LB’s, they’ve also lost coordinators, they also lost a very good D lineman that the Niners picked up. I actually think the Eagles last year were even better than this year. Who knows who would have won, but it’s disrespectful to “take away” their win.

Golden!

Cowboys fans we need to give Stephen A respect for saying this I’ve been saying it since last year respect to you Stephen A respect and thank you for saying what no one else will

It’s funny because in the week leading up to the game the Niners were really quiet. It was the media that brought up all the old shit and the eagles ended up giving new sound bites. They talked more as of late and this game felt great because of it

Offense and Defense kick a@#. Great job 49ers. Goooooo Niners😎

💯% Pure undeniable FACTS‼️‼️‼️

Eagles lost in SB due to a questionable holding penalty after taking out Purdy in NFC and yesterday's regular season win by 49ers delegitimizes LAST YEARS achievements?

Someone knows what they're taking about. Well said Stephen A. Smith

The Eagles have new offensive/defensive coordinators. We lost some players as well. The niners didn’t have Hargrave and Chase Young last year. Things are different this season. The niners are good, but they didn’t win the Super Bowl yet.

As a Cowboys fan I usually don’t agree with Stephen A but he’s 100% correct. He lists all the factors and gives good reasoning why he is right. It would’ve been a different NFC championship game if Purdh didn’t get hurt. But oh well. Go Boys!!!

Deebo carried the feeling of revenge with him all year and unleashed it on the Eagles.

New year, different team. A loss this year in the regular season doesn’t change the fact that the eagles are 2022 NFC champs.

Thank you, Stephen. I needed to hear that.

As a 49er fan, in the NFC championship game, both fan bases were cheated out of what could have been a great competitive game. The truth is, any bad NFL team would have won that game after losing all their quarterbacks. The entire 49ers team was upset when Purdy got hurt because they never got the chance to compete on an equal playing field with the Eagle's. This past Sunday, the 49ers got their chance on the same Eagle field, same Eagle team with the same Eagle fans. All NFL teams work hard to play in an NFC or AFC championship game, but it hurts when you get there and can't compete equally.

ScoreBoard don’t Lie! As a lifelong NINERS fan, the Eagles WON that game! No matter the injuries, the Eagles scored more points and played in the SuperBowl… That’s life… New season - New Hope!

Great Comment Stephan A.. Philly had better come into Dallas ready to play this Sunday.

I mean we going to ignore the Super Bowl lol eagles were one flag away from winning that right there legitimizes their run from “last year”

Nope, not buying it. I’m a Niners fan but injuries happen. Eagles were NFC Champions last year and that’s just reality. They earned it. Hell, they could be Champions again this year. 49ers just won week 13, that’s all. Great game tho.

Eagles fan here. I agree 100% with everything you said. I've been saying this for a while. Our coaching is garbage, our Defense is fatally flawed, and we don't really play with the same intensity that we did last year. Simple as.

Man, everything he referenced, clearly shows that he box score scouted the 49ers @ Eagles game.

Sooo....is the Chiefs' Superbowl delegitimized too?

Every word is 💯

I think this is a terrible take. Each season is its own separate entity. Last year's Eagles were significantly better. They set the record for most sacks in a season. This season, there are 11 teams that have more sacks than the Eagles.

Couldn’t have said it better myself

Blasphemy, yes eagles got beat really bad and I’m 100 Philly for life, but from a pure sports perspective you can’t take away the effort from 10 months ago, 2 separate seasons with different rosters, we are down 5 defensive starters 1 of which is now a 49niner, second WE knocked Purdy out the game because they did not protect him which is a core priority for a team so that’s on them and they lost, congrats to them for the performance but our win was legit, do better Steven A. Do your research on the roster aspect!! Put me on would luv to debate you on this or any other topic!! I’m a real one!!

Speaking the truth

Nothing but the truth.

Thank you!!

I think the niners would have won if purdy didn’t get hurt but that doesn’t matter anymore

San Fran walked up in their house and manhandled them like no one's business.

I like this Sports center style analysis. Calm, collected and professional

It's not like SF has never been humbled. They lost 2 straight NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl, just in the last 4 years. Not to mention they lost against the Ravens about 10 years ago. I remember Deebo was on the sidelines CRYING in LA.

my dude is speaking facts!! 100. my guy knows football!!

You have to at least mention this was Phillys 3rd game in 13 days and the 49ers haven’t played in 10 days. Doesn’t mean Philly would have won but the circumstances were a factor

Y’all media personalities really don’t know football the eagles team was different last season coaches and players so what does this year’s team have to do with last year

absolutely correct

They're not the same teams. I don't know how you look at this year and project that back to last year. Last year the Eagles rolled over everyone they faced. This year they've struggled, but have mostly been able to pull out wins in a much harder schedule. The Eagles lost both coordinators. There is a reason why the losing team in the Super Bowl doesn't even usually make the playoffs the next year. SF's defensive line is significantly better after adding Hargrave and Young. Add into that the way the schedule broke, with the Eagles coming off two grueling games against the Chiefs and the Bills, while the 49ers were coming off a mini-buy. Eagles two starting LBs in that game, which is where the 49ers gashed them the most, were players that were cut at one point. No Dallas Goedert. There is a reason that the Eagles were 3 point underdogs in this game, but were 2 point favorites in the Championship game. I'm not making excuses for this game, the 49ers were the better team, but to retroactively apply that to last year is ridiculous. Also, Brock Purdy didn't trip coming out of the locker room, he was knocked out because they tried to block Reddick with a backup TE.

No one like our Eagles. Our team was gutted after last season. Literally. We lost most of our defensive players, Offensive Coordinator, Defensive Coordinator, Running Back, etc.

Cry eagles cryyy!!!!! 😂😂

It was the Niners inability to block that caused the QBs to get hurt. It wasn’t a freak injury. Just a horrid take. This season is this season. They got the best of the Eagles this go around.

Mr. Smith is speaking the truth

That’s a disgrace to say. As a birds 🦅 fan I don’t care what team it is to try and take away from what was done last year. It’s football and it’s the O-line job to protect Purdy and things happen.

Stay humble niners one game at a time

🦅 are still #1 no matter who doesn't like it!

AMEN!!!!!

Great take, plain and simple

SF fans won the SB last night... LOL!

Okay so since they beat the Chiefs...the Superbowl Is Delegitimized then...how fuckin stupid does that sound

I was never in doubt that Philly didn't beat SF in the Championship last year. I don't consider that a legit win because 49ers can't score without Brock Purdy. Why would people have a second thought about it? Why would you even want to debate about it. It's illogical. Had they beat SF two days ago, we can say it's debatable that they won the Championship. But since they lost, it is fair to assume they got away with last year Championship game.

This was a dumb take, and I am such a fan of Stephen A. Smith