The San Francisco 49ers knocked off the defending world champion Eagles in an old-time, bare-knuckled cold January playoff game, with a wild and wooly trick play helping deliver the win.Sunday was the San Francisco 49ers’ first NFL playoff game since that day in early 2024 when they lost the lost the Super Bowl. And the Niners were not favored to win Sunday against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. But they outmaneuvered the Eagles for 23-19 playoff win on Philly’s home turf that sets these surging Niners up for a Divisional Round playoff showdown with the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday.49ERS STOP THE EAGLES ON 4TH DOWN! 😳WHAT. A. GAME. (📺 FOX) pic.twitter.com/tbXeSTtQub— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 12, 2026 The 49ers and Eagles wrestled in a smashmouth defensive battle all afternoon, and it wasn’t over ‘til the Niners’ defense stopped Philadelphia's last-gasp fourth-down attempt in the game’s final minute. And listen to those Philly fans boo! Demarcus Robinson 6 REC, 111 YDS, 1 TD vs PHI in Wildcard Game Today.pic.twitter.com/5kdHY9s868 https://t.co/6uHedXWZVu— Football Performances (@NFLPerformances) January 12, 2026 Early on in this thing, both teams appeared primed to just score touchdowns all day. Check out the above clip which captures both of Demarcus Robinson’s most outstanding catches on the 49ers’ first drive, one of which was a touchdown.Dallas Goedert “rocked the baby” on his TD celebration 🙏He and his girlfriend, Aria, announced the birth of their son on January 6th 👶 (📺 FOX) pic.twitter.com/DwnhyEjean— ESPN (@espn) January 11, 2026 Eagles stars Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barley were also running wild right out of the gate, and tight end Dallas Goedert notched two touchdowns (plus the Eagles kicked a field goal). Though then the game turned into a defensive slogfest that saw the 49ers down 16-10 at halftime. Breaking: George Kittle has been ruled out with an Achilles injury, the 49ers announced. pic.twitter.com/xECnrJsCgF— ESPN (@espn) January 11, 2026 Worse yet, tight end George Kittle suffered what appears to be a torn right Achilles in the second quarter. So that man will not be playing any more football this season.TRICKERATION FROM THE 49ERS FOR A TD!Kevin Burkhardt with the commentary and Tom Brady with the noises for Fox. 🏈🪄🎙️ #NFLPlayoffs #NFL pic.twitter.com/aEFDwzbbfg— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 12, 2026 Yet the 49ers would break this gritty stalemate with some electrifying fourth-quarter TRICKERATION, where a reverse handoff to Jauan Jennings turned into Jennings throwing an unexpected 29-yard touchdown pass to Christian McCaffrey. Suddenly, the 49ers were winning by a hair, 17-16.  The 49ers take the lead late in Philly! Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady have the call for Fox. 🏈🔥🎙️ #NFLPlayoffs #NFL pic.twitter.com/FhxEfpOp9r— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 12, 2026 A Brock Purdy interception allowed the Eagles to kick another field goal and retake the lead, 19-17. But Purdy would shake that off instantly for a game-winning 66-yard drive that cooked five minutes off the late-game clock, and will send the 49ers to the Divisional Round playoffs next weekend. This makes ZERO sense.Both the Rams and Bears played on Saturday. That should be the Saturday game.It's asinine the NFL would schedule the 49ers on a short week when they could have avoided a short week for all of the NFC teams. https://t.co/0uA9z2dt0r— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) January 12, 2026 And so the 49ers go on to face the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle next week. Some Niners fans are already up in arms with “the NFL hates us” theories over that game being scheduled as a Saturday game, which hands the 49ers a short week of preparation while Seattle is coming off a bye. (For what it’s worth, the Seahawks are early 6.5-point favorites.)And you know what? Go ahead and have that chip on your shoulder, 49ers fans. This injury-ravaged team thrives in its “us against the world” mentality, Adversity motivates these 49ers, who are now one step closer to having adversity motivate them to a Super Bowl in their own home stadium on February 8. Related: 49ers Win Wild, Roller-Coaster Shootout Over Chicago Bears 42-38, Could Get No. 1 Seed In NFC [SFist]Image: PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 11: San Francisco 49ers defenders tackle Saquon Barkley #26 of the Philadelphia Eagles during the first quarter in the NFC Wild Card Playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field on January 11, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) ...read more read less