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49ers overcome injuries to defeat Eagles in wild-card thriller
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San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle is carted off the field after an injury during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Philadelphia. - photo by AP Photo/Chris Szagola
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — When star tight end George Kittle went down with a torn Achilles tendon in the second quarter, it looked as if the injury issues that have plagued the San Francisco 49ers all season might have finally broken the team. Instead, Brock Purdy connected with Jauan Jennings on a 45-yard pass on the next play to set up a field goal that helped the short-handed 49ers pull out a 23-19 victory over the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round. Now San Francisco (13-5) heads to Seattle (14-3) for a divisional round game Saturday without Kittle and fellow former All-Pros Nick Bosa and Fred Warner.