Eagles-49ers: Nick Sirianni explains sideline fight with A.J. Brown, who declines to speak with reporters

With less than a minute remaining in Sunday's game, fans crowded together in McGillin's Olde Ale House with the Eagles down 23-19 and their back-to-back Super Bowl aspirations on the line. As a way to motivate one another and keep their hopes alive, fans in the bar began to erupt into Eagles chants.

Unfortunately, Jalen Hurts was sacked and threw three straight incompletions to end their playoff run early.

Brandon Lasalata was just one fan in attendance to watch the Birds night end in a loss. The 24-year-old made the drive from Richmond, Virginia to watch Sunday's wild-card matchup surrounded by Eagles fans. However, it wasn't the ending he expected.

Following their loss to the 49ers, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was asked about a sideline fight he had with wide receiver A.J. Brown highlighted during Fox's broadcast.

“I was trying to get him off the field because we were about to punt," Sirianni told reporters. "I love A.J. I think he knows how I feel about him."

"We're both emotional," Sirianni added. "That happens in this game."

With all the NFC wild-card games now finished, here's what we know about the playoff matchups we'll see in the divisional round next weekend:

NFC:

AFC:

The Eagles are clinging to a 16-10 lead as the third quarter ends, but San Francisco will begin the fourth quarter with a first down on the Eagles' 29-yard line.

The Eagles' offense has stalled a bit. Jake Elliott just extended the lead by three points with a 41-yard field goal, but the Eagles punted on their three previous drives.

Execution has been an issue, too. Saquon Barkley dropped a pass in the flat for a first down. Cam Jurgens was also called for a holding penalty on a Jalen Hurts run that would have resulted in a first down.

The Eagles lead the San Francisco 49ers, 13-10, at halftime.

A lot happened.

The Eagles' defense needs to cut down on big plays, but Vic Fangio's unit is in a pretty good spot. The running game should be able to control the second half. But the Eagles are probably regretting not getting points out of that last drive and building on their lead.

Nick Sirianni and wide receiver A.J. Brown had to be separated on the sideline following a failed third down play late in the second quarter.

Big Dom had to step in to push Brown away from his head coach.

After halftime, Sirianni told Fox's Erin Andrews things are fine between him and his star receiver.

A strong cold front is forecast to incite winds perhaps gusting 40 mph during the Eagles-49ers playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field.

The winds evidently won’t be taking sides: The stadium’s orientation is more or less north-south, and the winds will be blowing from the west and then “swirling around in the Linc,” said Matt Benz, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc.

In any event, they won’t be much help to the quarterbacks or the kickers — San Francisco’s Eddy Piñeiro or Elliott, whose 74.1% field goal percentage this season was the second-lowest of his nine-year career. Piñeiro hit on 28 of 29 attempts.

The first AFC playoff game picked up right where the NFC left off Saturday night: with a thrilling finish.

In a back-and-forth affair that included four fourth-quarter lead changes, the Bills edged out the Jaguars, 27-24, thanks to a go-ahead Tush Push touchdown from Josh Allen with a minute left in the game.

If the Patriots beat the Chargers Sunday night, the Bills will travel to Denver next week for the divisional round as the conference's lowest remaining seed.

Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson is not active for Sunday’s wildcard game vs. the San Francisco 49ers.

Johnson was officially listed as questionable following practice on Friday after participating in all three practices this week in a limited fashion.

Johnson suffered a Lisfranc injury in his foot in the Eagles’ Week 11 win over the Detroit Lions. This week was his first week back on the practice field, but he was not yet fully ready to return to game action.

Walking through C Lot, you may find Eagles fans playing cornhole, grilling their favorite meats, or throwing a football around as they prepare for today's game. Or you may see a man wearing a beak on his head as he drags a 49ers helmet on a leash through the parking lot.

That's 64-year-old David Schofield, also known as "Beak." He has been “walking the dog” for 21 years.

“The rescues, we just like to bring them out here in the sun and get them some exercise,” Schofield said of his "helmet dog."

Darius Slay may no longer be part of the Eagles — but that’s not stopping him and his wife Jennifer Slay from supporting his former team.

The former Birds cornerback posed for photos with fans at the 4th and Jawn tailgate ahead of the Eagles' wild-card matchup with the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. Standing beside his wife, he looked at the crowd of Birds fans and smiled as they yelled out “Big Play Slay” and erupted in Eagles chants.

Although Slay was released last offseason before signing with the Steelers, he still means a lot to the city of Philadelphia after spending five seasons here, capped off by a Super Bowl victory in February. 

Steven Booth, 30, and Brandon Casas, 26, flew in from El Paso, Texas, on Friday night to watch the Eagles compete against the San Francisco 49ers in their wild-card matchup at Lincoln Financial Field.

Booth has been an Eagles fan since 2005, when he was a kid and the Birds played the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX. Sunday’s game will be the first game he’s attending at the Linc.

“We’re looking forward to seeing the [Eagles] fan base,” Booth said. “How crazy it gets in there in a playoff environment. And of course a [win].”

On Nov. 10, 1997, Jimmy DeLeon, a municipal court judge, was watching from home when a blowout loss to the 49ers on Monday Night Football became more about what was happening in the stands. There were over 20 fights, a gang of fans broke a man’s ankle, two folks ran onto the Vet turf, and a New Jersey man was arrested after firing a flare across the stadium.

The concrete and steel fortress at Broad and Pattison had long been a haven for rough and rowdy football fans. There was the time the fans stole the headdress from the Washington fan who dressed like a Native American. And the whistling Cowboys fan who was chased out of the 700 Level.

“It was a nightmare,” said Bill Brady, a retired traffic cop who spent game days patrolling the 700 Level. “Fights galore. People passed out in the bathroom. One of the security guys up there used to box in the Blue Horizon. It was nothing but aggravation. You’d have roll call in the police room and go up to the 700 Level. By the end of the day, you were beat up.”

The Rams were a double-digit favorite and still needed last-minute heroics to win on the road against 8-9 Carolina. The Bears advanced past Green Bay after a fourth-quarter comeback that seemed impossible, and will probably be a home underdog once again vs. their divisional round opponent.

Wild-card Saturday was certainly wild, but it underscored a major storyline of this season’s NFL playoffs: It’s wide open.

After what was a pretty whacky regular season — the offense took a step back under a first-year coordinator; A.J. Brown fired off a few cryptic social media posts; Lane Johnson and Jalen Carter were hurt; Brandon Graham came out of retirement — the Eagles are firmly in the mix, and it’s hard to rule them out of making a Super Bowl run.

Eagles fans will hear a familiar voice — and a former foe — calling Sunday’s wild-card game against the San Francisco 49ers. 

Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady, Fox’s No. 1 crew, will be in the booth at the Linc to call all of Sunday’s action. Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi will report from the sidelines.

It will be the duo’s seventh Eagles game this season, and while Birds fans have strong opinions about Brady, Burkhardt has unquestionably been a rabbit's foot.

If the No. 3 seed Eagles manage to defeat the No. 6 San Francisco 49ers Sunday, they'll travel to Chicago to take on the No. 2 Bears in the divisional round of the playoffs next weekend.

The No. 1 Seattle Seahawks will take on the lowest-remaining seed, the No. 5 Los Angeles Rams, who eked by the No. 4 Carolina Panthers, 34-31, Saturday afternoon. That would leave the Eagles facing the Bears, who defeated the Birds 24-15 earlier this season. If the 49ers win, they would travel to Seattle and the Bears would host the Rams.

The Seahawks have entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed three previous times (2014, 2013, and 2005), and each time have advanced to the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, the Eagles are looking to become the first No. 3 seed in the NFC to make it to the Super Bowl since Washington did it in 1987.

When it comes to our writers, it's a consensus: the Eagles will advance to the divisional round. Here's a look at how they see it playing out:

Jeff McLane: “There’s a push when it comes to the Eagles’ underperforming offense vs. the 49ers’ subpar defense; but I give the edge to a great Eagles defense over a very good, but not great 49ers offense.” | Eagles 23, Niners 17.

Jeff Neiburg: “It hasn’t been an encouraging season from the Eagles’ offense, to put it mildly, but the 49ers are down multiple linebackers and don’t have an abundance of talent in the secondary. If the Eagles don’t beat themselves, which you can’t rule out, they should be able to establish a running game that gets the offense back on track.” | Eagles 24, Niners 20.

The Eagles have listed Lane Johnson, who suffered a Lisfranc foot injury in Week 11, as questionable to play in Sunday’s wild-card game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Johnson, the 35-year-old right tackle, was a limited participant in all three practices this week. He hadn’t practiced since mid-November, as he missed the last seven games of the regular season after his injury against the Detroit Lions.

On Saturday, Fox's Jay Glazer reported that Johnson was dealing with some soreness and swelling in his injured foot and will be a game-time decision. That report that was confirmed by NFL Network's Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport.