The 49ers Not Challenging A Crazy Fourth Down Catch By DeVonta Smith Led To The Eagles First Touchdown

The NFC Championship Game in Philadelphia did not take long to produce its first bit of controversy, as a 4th and 3 conversion from the Eagles that saw DeVonta Smith haul in a one-handed grab from Jalen Hurts helped set up the first score of the game.

While Smith was clearly inbounds, he did pop up and signal to the Eagles to go quickly so the Niners wouldn’t get too many angles to decide to potentially review it. The initial shots we got didn’t show anything clearly wrong with the catch, and Kyle Shanahan decided not to burn one of his two challenges as the Eagles rushed to the line and hurriedly got off a play.

The Eagles would go on to score a touchdown on a Miles Sanders run up the middle, taking a 7-0 lead, but it never should’ve been possible for Philadelphia because, eventually, we got the field side replay that clearly showed the ball get punched loose from Smith as he went to the ground.

That replay didn’t arrive until after the touchdown on the TV broadcast, but with how quickly Smith popped up and the Eagles rushed to the line, it was clear even they weren’t sure, which might should’ve suggested to the Niners sideline they should challenge it even without clear evidence. What made that even more painful for Niners fans was on the first series for San Francisco, the Eagles correctly challenged a missed call, where a Brock Purdy incompletion was clearly a fumble that got punched forward by the rookie QB, resulting in Philly getting the ball back near midfield.

In a game that’s expected to be as tight as this one (with the Eagles as 2.5-point favorites), those two coaching decisions in the first quarter of the game could very well play a massive role in the outcome — even if Philly went 3-and-out after the fumble. Making matters worse was Purdy was injured on the play, and Josh Johnson had to enter the game on the next drive.