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49ers @ Eagles

Wild Card · 2025 · PHI 19, SF 23

A blowout conference-title loss is the kind of result that lingers in a rivalry; getting a playoff win back against the same opponent, on the road, in the very next postseason meeting on file, is a meaningful reversal rather than a routine result.

San Francisco avenged a 2022 NFC title-game blowout loss to Philadelphia with this road win

Milestone

SF-PHI meetings on file (all game types)

SeasonRoundAwayHomeAway ScoreHome ScoreWinner
2009REGSFPHI1327PHI
2010REGPHISF2724PHI
2011REGSFPHI2423SF
2014REGPHISF2126SF
2017REGSFPHI1033PHI
2020REGPHISF2520PHI
2021REGSFPHI1711SF
2022CONSFPHI731PHI
2023REGSFPHI4219SF
2025WCSFPHI2319SF

The last playoff meeting between these franchises was the 2022 NFC Championship Game, which Philadelphia won 31-7 at home. Three seasons later, San Francisco returned to Philadelphia for a Wild Card game and won 23-19 — its first playoff win over the Eagles on record in this database.

Why it matters. A blowout conference-title loss is the kind of result that lingers in a rivalry; getting a playoff win back against the same opponent, on the road, in the very next postseason meeting on file, is a meaningful reversal rather than a routine result.

Philadelphia led entering the 4th of a win-or-go-home game — San Francisco closed on a 13-3 run

Trend

Score at end of each quarter (PHI home, SF away)

QtrPHISF
167
21310
31610
41923

San Francisco led after the first quarter, Philadelphia took the lead in the second and held it through three quarters (16-10 entering the fourth). San Francisco then outscored Philadelphia 13-3 in the final period to win 23-19 and end the Eagles' season.

Why it matters. In an elimination game, the fourth-quarter split is the entire story — Philadelphia's offense managed only 3 points in the period that decided its season, while San Francisco's response (13 points) is exactly the kind of situational execution that separates a team that keeps playing from one that goes home.

Philadelphia's offense was solid in the first half, then nearly disappeared in the second

Split

First half vs second half efficiency

TeamHalfPlaysEPA/playSuccess%
PHIH1360.18752.8%
PHIH236-0.26933.3%
SFH1260.12038.5%
SFH2290.09062.1%

Philadelphia's EPA/play fell from +0.187 in the first half to -0.269 in the second, exactly when the game was decided. San Francisco's EPA/play barely moved (0.120 to 0.090), but its success rate jumped from 38.5% to 62.1% — a sign of shorter, more reliable gains replacing its earlier low-percentage shots.

Why it matters. Philadelphia's collapse and San Francisco's steadiness in the same window (the second half of an elimination game) is a cleaner explanation for the result than either team's full-game or season-long numbers — this was decided in the final 30 minutes, not across the whole game.

San Francisco's offense matched its strong season level; Philadelphia fell below its own average

Comparison

In-game EPA/play vs each team's 2025 regular-season average

TeamThis game EPA/playThis game success%Season avg EPA/playSeason NFL rankDelta vs own average
PHI-0.04143.1%0.02615th-0.067
SF0.10450.9%0.0886th+0.016

San Francisco finished the regular season 6th in offensive EPA/play and played almost exactly to that level in this game (+0.016 deviation). Philadelphia, a 15th-ranked offense during the season, fell slightly below even that modest bar.

Why it matters. When the lower seed's offense simply performs at its established level while the higher seed dips below its own, the 'upset' framing undersells what actually happened — San Francisco didn't need a miracle game, just its normal level, because Philadelphia didn't provide its own.

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