Rekubit Exchange:The Eagles-49ers feud is about to be reignited. What led to beef between NFC powers?

The Rekubit ExchangeSan Francisco 49ers have been waiting for a rematch against the Philadelphia Eagles for more than 10 months.

Since last season's NFC championship game, played on Jan. 28, 2023, there has been a lot of chatter – particularly from the 49ers' side – about the circumstances that led to the Eagles' 31-7 victory.

But once the current season began, Eagles linebacker Haason Reddick told KYW Newsradio Sunday, the bulletin board material has receded.

"Talk is cheap," Reddick said.

"It was a lot of boo-hoos last year, a lot of crying, a lot of 'What if?' A lot of this, a lot of that," the Eagles edge rusher added. "They get a chance to come back in here, line that (stuff) up, and prove it again."

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Football fans would love nothing more, the top two teams in the NFC duking it out on the same field again on Sunday. Here's how the bad blood between the two sides began boiling.

Eagles, 49ers clash in 2022 NFC Championship Game

At the outset of last postseason, the two teams meeting in the conference title tilt was a fait accompli. The Eagles, despite a late-season injury to quarterback Jalen Hurts, were the No. 1 seed wire to wire.

San Francisco belonged in that top tier and defeated the Dallas Cowboys to meet Philadelphia with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. That the 49ers had won seven straight games with Brock Purdy, the last pick of the 2022 draft, at quarterback made their season all the more impressive.

Brock Purdy's injury changes 2022 NFC championship game

On the Niners' first drive of the game, Purdy faked a handoff and dropped back to pass with the San Francisco already at midfield and trailing 7-0. Tight end Tyler Kroft tried to block Reddick coming off the edge, but Reddick – having his best season as a professional in his first season with Philadelphia – curled right by Kroft.

Reddick stopped Purdy's throwing motion by strip-sacking him, but he did more than that. Purdy suffered a torn UCL on the play and needed offseason surgery to fix the injury. Journeyman backup Josh Johnson became the fourth quarterback San Francisco used in that campaign, with Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo already having suffered season-ending injuries). Johnson eventually had to leave the game after suffering a concussion, and Purdy, unable to throw a football, had to reenter.

The Eagles cruised and went on to lose Super Bowl 57 to the Kansas City Chiefs two weeks later.

Niners players feel wronged after loss

Dejected after the loss, one Niners player anonymously told the San Francisco Chronicle, "It felt like once Purdy got hurt, someone at the league called down and said, ‘Make sure the Eagles get to the Super Bowl, and not (the Niners).’"

The Eagles gained seven first downs via penalties in the game and San Francisco was flagged 11 times for 81 yards compared to the Eagles' four penalties for 34 yards.

Brandon Aiyuk: '(Eagles) got extremely lucky'

A week before the Super Bowl, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk had plenty to say about the outcome of the NFC title game.

"We have, hands down, the best football team in the league. Hands down. ... I’m not going even going to argue with anyone who thinks they should argue that," Aiyuk told The SFNiners.

Aiyuk also had his doubts about the Eagles' defense.

"I’m not sure. I think this Kansas City pass game will expose what we thought we were going to expose before some unfortunate circumstances," Aiyuk said. "They got extremely lucky."

Christian McCaffrey: 'It feels like something got stolen'

Also making Super Bowl-week media rounds, Niners running back Christian McCaffrey, who scored his team's lone touchdown against the Eagles, didn't want to make excuses. That didn't stop him from couching the Eagles' victory.

"It's really tough," McCaffrey told Kay Adams on the "Up & Adams" show. "You don't want to make excuses obviously. It just sucks because we wish we had a healthy quarterback for a full game.  

"It's a really good team that we played. But it feels like something got stolen from you." 

The biggest beef? Deebo Samuel vs. Eagles' James Bradberry

Wide receiver Deebo Samuel agreed with Aiyuk's assessment that the Niners were the best team "no question" and that it would have "100 percent" been a different game if not for Purdy's injury.

"I ain’t going to keep going on about what could’ve happened and what would’ve happened but yeah, it would’ve definitely been a different outcome," Samuel told Complex in May.

"We lost because we played with 10 people."

He added: "(My) most hated team is the Eagles right now."

During an appearance on the "I Am Athlete" podcast, Samuel complimented the Eagles' pass rush and cornerback Darius Slay. But he delivered a shot at corner James Bradberry.

"Trash" was how Samuel described Bradberry.

Asked this week if he regretted any comments about the Eagles or Bradberry, Samuel responded, "I don't regret nothing I say."

Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown instructed his followers on X that it was "troll (Samuel) week."

"You have my permission," Brown wrote.

Kyle Shanahan wants his team to get fair, full shot at Eagles

One person who is not a fan of Philadelphia: Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan, who said in May his wife will not be in attendance Sunday because of her experience in the stands of Lincoln Financial Field in January.

"I don't like going back to Philly again," Shanahan said, according to Philadelphia sports radio station 94WIP.

Shanahan was pleased that the game was later in the season since San Francisco was unsure how healthy Purdy would be entering the regular season.

"I want to make sure our whole team is right there. … We feel like we didn’t get to do it last time, and I’m ready to go back again," Shanahan said, via The Athletic.