The 2025 Eagles season ended on Sunday evening in the NFC Wild Card Round as a final offensive possession fell short on a failed fourth-and-11 pass from quarterback Jalen Hurts to tight end Dallas Goedert, giving the visiting 49ers a 23-19 win over Philadelphia.
Let's get into some observations from the 2025 finale.
1. Offense offers promising first half, but unable to get win on final possession
There were a lot of good things from the first half, which ended with the Eagles ahead 13-10. The running game produced, Hurts had some success in the short passing game, and the numbers were good: 188 total net yards and 11 first downs on four possessions. In the second half, the Eagles hurt themselves with a couple of untimely penalties and were not able to convert two promising drives into touchdowns, settling for two field goals and ultimately falling short after giving themselves an opportunity to win the game on the game's final possession.
In the first half, the Eagles ran some misdirection and spread the field and were creative in getting the football to their skill players – Goedert, for example, went in motion on a play from the 1-yard line and took a handoff from Hurts and reached the end zone on the team's opening possession, capping a 10-play, 63-yard drive.
Then the Eagles put together a 16-play, 94-yard drive that consumed nine minutes of clock time and a Hurts pass to Goedert put the ball in the end zone for a second time and it really looked like the offense had something going.
But then the Eagles were only able to score six points in the second half, both on field goals that came after Quinyon Mitchell interceptions. On their penultimate possession, the Eagles had a very promising drive that went all the way down to the San Francisco 15-yard line. After being unable to convert on third-and-long, they settled for a field goal but took a 19-17 lead with 8:00 remaining in the game.
The 49ers responded with an impressive touchdown drive to take a 23-19 lead with 2:54 left on the clock. The Eagles had one final chance and one again moved the ball down into scoring range but fell short when Hurts' fourth-down pass to Goedert was incomplete.
2. Saquon Barkley had some juice, but it wasn't enough
The standout running back gained 106 yards on 26 carries, with a 29-yard gain that came on the first possession. He added 3 catches for 25 yards. But, again, most of that damage happened in the first two quarters. Barkley gained 71 of his rushing yards and 20 of his receiving yards in the first half. You can do the math. The 49ers did a good job of limiting Barkley and the ground game in the second half, which made it difficult to move the chains in windy conditions.
3. Quinyon Mitchell's very odd career stat line
A first-team All-Pro, cornerback Quinyon Mitchell bounced back from an uncharacteristic first possession and had two interceptions, which gave the Eagles some life in the second half. Strangely, Mitchell has yet to record an interception in a regular-season game. Even more remarkable, he has four interceptions in his five career playoff games, two of them on Sunday. It's a really odd stat, for whatever it's worth.
4. Razzle dazzle pays off for the 49ers
The defense did a good job throughout the game for the most part, but gave up a touchdown pass on a handoff and then a pitch to wide receiver Jauan Jennings, a former high school quarterback, who threw a perfect over-the-shoulder pass to running back Christian McCaffrey for a 29-yard touchdown connection. San Francisco took a 17-16 lead after the PAT.
5. Third downs a telling statistic in this one
San Francisco came into the game leading the NFL in third-down offense, converting 50 percent of the time. The 49ers converted on 6 of 11 third downs in this one and the final one hurt the most: quarterback Brock Purdy threw a touchdown pass to McCaffrey on a third-and-goal from the 4-yard line as the 49ers took their final lead. The short passing game from Purdy hurt the defense – fullback Kyle Juszczyk caught four passes for 48 yards. Wide receiver Demarcus Robinson was the big weapon for San Francisco with six receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown. The Eagles converted their first three third downs and then converted two of their next 13 third downs (they were also 3 for 5 on fourth downs).
6. Penalties cost the Eagles here
San Francisco came into this game ranked second in the NFL in fewest penalties committed, and the 49ers were penalized only once on Sunday. The Eagles were whistled for seven penalties for 48 yards on Sunday. Two holding penalties negated positive plays for the Eagles that could have jump-started the offensive in the second half. These are the kinds of things that are too hard to overcome when the postseason arrives and the Eagles paid the price on Sunday.
