What we learned from Eagles-49ers: The secret to Howie Roseman’s executive of the year success

The Eagles are going to the Super Bowl after pummeling the 49ers, 31-7, in the NFC championship game on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. Win, lose, or draw, here’s what we learned:

Before last offseason, the Eagles listed their needs from top to bottom, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, and how they had hoped to fill them. They wanted to address, first and foremost, holes on the defensive line. They wanted to upgrade their pass rush with a quick-twitch edge defender, they wanted to find a space-eating nose tackle to sure up their run defense, a complementary zone cornerback to Darius Slay, a playmaking safety who could wear different hats, and a weakside linebacker who could cover the flat in quarters, among other responsibilities.

That general manager Howie Roseman was able to accomplish all five objectives speaks to why he earned the second executive of the year award of his career. There were plenty more successful moves he made, most prominently trading for wide receiver A.J. Brown. But Roseman transformed the defense from one that struggled to stop the run and get to the quarterback last season to arguably the best unit in the NFL. Haason Reddick was the key addition and was his first free-agent signing. The outside linebacker’s strip-sack that knocked 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy from the game was the defining moment of the Eagles’ victory.

Jordan Davis’ midseason ankle injury was a setback, but through the first half of the season, the first-round rookie ate up blocks and often allowed defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon to maintain coverage integrity in the secondary. Davis’ injury was, in some ways, a blessing in disguise because it compelled Roseman to sign nose tackle Linval Joseph and, as a luxury, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. When Suh knocked backup quarterback Josh Johnson from the game, San Fran stood no chance of coming back with Purdy unable to throw downfield. The 49ers predictably ran the ball from there on out, but Joseph and Davis plugged the middle and never allowed the 49ers’ running backs to break off long runs.

» READ MORE: Eagles’ Haason Reddick overcomes snubs and knocks out Brock Purdy and the 49ers in the NFC championship

Cornerback James Bradberry and safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson — two more offseason acquisitions — didn’t have much to do in the passing game, but the former was all over wide receiver Deebo Samuel on several early throws and the latter was flying around the field all game. Gardner-Johnson missed one too many tackles — more on that later — but he has brought an athleticism to the middle that was solely missing last season. Inside linebacker Kyzir White — signed to a cost-effective, one-year deal — has had his ups and downs all season (and again on Sunday) but ultimately has been an upgrade alongside middle linebacker T.J. Edwards.

Roseman made a few questionable decisions in terms of personnel, notably deciding to bring back defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and defensive end Derek Barnett at seemingly higher rates than they would have gotten elsewhere. Barnett suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 1, but Cox adapted to a lesser role and has produced when the lights have shined the brightest, as has been his knack over an 11-year career with the Eagles. The trade-deadline acquisition of defensive end Robert Quinn for a fourth-round draft pick has proved to be a miscalculation, but Roseman’s masterful roster construction has offset the rare misfire.

Most NFL GMs are risk averse. Roseman’s aggressiveness may be his calling card. Jeffrey Lurie has given him a long leash, sometimes to the detriment of the franchise. The owner and GM have had what others have described as a codependent relationship. But, for the most part, they have been a winning team. The 47-year-old Roseman has survived three coaching firings, the loss of many personnel lieutenants, a year in exile from football operations, and the occasional losing season. But his record is as good or better than most of his contemporaries and he’s on the cusp of becoming the only current GM — that isn’t also a coach (Bill Belichick) or owner (Jerry Jones) — to win two Super Bowls.

Lurie spent a good portion of his interview after the game emphasizing the significance of Nick Sirianni and the coaching staff he has assembled. Even when a question was about another topic, the Eagles owner spun his response toward the coaches. Lurie understands as well as anyone that keeping a winning staff together is imperative, and if you lose someone, having a replacement in the wings. (See: The Rams’ one-year fall after Sean McVay lost key assistants.) Sirianni brought back his entire staff after a 9-8 first season that ended with a first-round playoff loss. Even though he exceeded expectations, it was atypical that there weren’t any changes aside from offensive consultant Jim Bob Cooter heading to the Jaguars. But Sirianni trusted his initial choices and staying the course paid off.

“I can’t overestimate the value of the coaches,” Lurie said. “Nick is outstanding, smart, connects with everybody, cares, is passionate. And at the same time, his staff is outstanding. They are all similar age, they are young, they get along great. You have to have a great culture of a coaching staff. He has that.”

A month ago, it looked like Sirianni might lose one or both of his main coordinators. Gannon, for the second straight year, was a finalist for the Texans job. But 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans reportedly will be hired by Houston. Gannon didn’t interview for one of the NFL’s other four vacancies, though, and will likely be back. Offensive coordinator Shane Steichen interviewed with the Texans, Panthers, and Colts. The Panthers, ultimately, chose Frank Reich. But Indianapolis reportedly wants to meet with Steichen a second time. Maybe he gets the job. But the sense here is that he returns to Philly as well, which would be amazing considering the success the Eagles have had this season.

There’s a chance that Sirianni loses one of his other offensive assistants. Pass game coordinator Kevin Patullo, quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson, run game coordinator/offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland, and tight ends coach Jason Michael all have head coordinator potential.

» READ MORE: Nick Sirianni’s trash-talking, camera-mugging ways date back to high school and still anger past foes

Stoutland would be, probably, the toughest loss because he may be the best in the NFL at what he does. I wouldn’t be surprised if Reich has Stoutland on his short list of offensive-coordinator targets. Stoutland would get a higher title and more money, but he wouldn’t be calling plays, and Lurie would probably do whatever it took to retain him. There have been previous attempts to steal Stoutland that the owner has warded off.

“We know what we have in Stout,” Lurie said.

If Stoutland had the ambition to be a head coach, I could see him leaving. He’s 60 years old and this could be his last chance to move in that direction. But he has built a legacy here. He loves his job like no other. And he’s one of the best at it in the entire world. I’m not sure he’s the type to want much more than that.

The Eagles quarterback had arguably his toughest outing of the season. Hurts completed 15 of 25 passes for only 121 yards and 4.8 yards per attempt. He missed some throws he would normally make, overshooting a wide-open Brown, and seemingly making tentative tosses on shorter routes. The 49ers, of course, were the best defense he has faced this season. But I think we may have seen the first real signs, in terms of his arm, that he isn’t 100% back from the shoulder injury.

Hurts averaged 4.1 pass attempts of plus-20-air yards before the injury. In the first two games after his return, he completed 2 of 5 downfield passes for 77 yards. But it wasn’t enough of a sample to suggest he could throw without restrictions. On Sunday, he tossed five passes over 20 yards, but he completed just one for 29 yards. That would have been DeVonta Smith’s one-handed grab that some claimed actually hit the ground. Nevertheless, Hurts overshot his open receiver.

Was his day cause for concern, especially if the Chiefs find a way to force the Eagles into obvious passing situations, unlike the 49ers? Maybe. But Hurts ably shifted into game-manager mode, didn’t turn the ball over, and was still a threat on the ground with 11 carries for 39 yards and a touchdown. It was tough sledding for the Eagles in the running game, but the 49ers’ quarterback situation allowed Sirianni and Steichen to pound the ball on the ground and 3.4 yards per rush was more than enough to seal the outcome.

The Chiefs don’t have defensive personnel in San Fran’s class. They have a couple of game wreckers up front and competent defenders in their back seven. But I see more opportunities for the Eagles than I do Kansas City. That is, if Hurts is the pre-injury, MVP-caliber Hurts. If he’s not, the pass offense issues could remain.

Despite the unfortunate injuries for the 49ers, the Eagles appeared to be the stronger team, particularly up front. But San Fran still knotted the score, 7-7, midway through the second quarter with Johnson under center. It wasn’t until he fumbled a snap that the game started to get out of hand. When he left with a concussion in the third quarter and it was clear Purdy couldn’t throw, the game was over. So it’s hard to say the Eagles were 24 points better.

There were some concerning moments early on. The 49ers effectively kept the Eagles in two-linebacker packages to exploit White in man coverage. Chiefs coach Andy Reid isn’t going to utilize many two-back sets, but he will get two tight ends on the field on occasion. The Eagles missed a total of 11 tackles on only 43 plays. It was their highest percentage of missed tackles since the Texans game in early November. The Eagles weren’t a good tackling defense in the first half of the season, but they turned it around. The 49ers entered Sunday’s game as the No. 1 offense in yards after the catch, which may have contributed to the Eagles’ struggles in that regard.

They missed three on one play alone, when Christian McCaffrey skipped over a lunging Marcus Epps, shook off Slay, and broke free of Gardner-Johnson. The 49ers running back has done that before, but the Eagles had three chances to bring him down.

I’m not sure what to make of the penalties and scrapes some of the Eagles’ younger players got into on special teams and defense when the game was all but decided. If you’re Sirianni, you like to see your guys playing with intensity. But Josh Jobe took an unnecessary-roughness penalty on a punt return that pinned the Eagles offense inside their 20 and K’Von Wallace got ejected — along with 49ers left tackle Trent Williams — for fighting. The latter incident, ultimately, wasn’t a big deal. But Jobe got caught responding to an altercation — it’s always the second guy — and the Eagles can’t have stupid penalties in the Super Bowl.

Left guard Landon Dickerson left in the fourth quarter with a right arm injury. He was seen with a brace on his arm after the game and was at the NovaCare Complex on Monday receiving treatment, according to a team source. He hasn’t been ruled out for the Super Bowl, but his status remains uncertain. Andre Dillard has been his backup. … The Eagles, otherwise, came out relatively unscathed. Every player was available on Sunday, with Avonte Maddox returning to his usual slot cornerback spot after missing several games. … The Eagles may be forced to go back to Arryn Siposs after punter Brett Kern struggled again. He appeared to get jobbed when one of his punts hit the overhead TV camera wire and officials didn’t have enough evidence to re-kick. But Kern’s 35.8 net average wasn’t good. Siposs suggested a few weeks back that he could be available by the playoffs. He has been punting off to the side, but he didn’t practice last week.