Australian Jordan Mailata is headed for a Super Bowl appearance after helping his Philadelphia Eagles to soar past the San Franciscio 49ers 31-7 in the NFC Championship game.
The Eagles will face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Arizona on February 12 after the Chiefs advanced to their third Super Bowl in four years with a 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championhip decider later on Sunday.
In Philadelphia, star quarterback Jalen Hurts passed for 121 yards and rushed for a touchdown as the Eagles progressed to their first Super Bowl in five years as the 49ers’ quarterback injury curse struck again twice to cripple their hopes.
Miles Sanders rushed for two touchdowns while teammate Haason Reddick delivered a huge performance for the Eagles with two sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
The 6-foot-8, 165kg Mailata, an offensive tackle, shed tears after playing his part in the comprehensive victory as he realised a dream in the making since the former junior rugby league player from Sydney was drafted by the Eagles in the seventh round in 2018.
He is in his fifth full NFL season and signed a four-year extension with the Eagles in 2021 which was worth up to $A118 million.
The Eagles, who won the Super Bowl five years ago with a different coach and quarterback, will try to do it again behind the formidable duo of Hurts and coach Nick Sirianni.
“You see this city and the passion they have for this team. We’re so appreciative of these fans,” Sirianni said. “Look at this place. There’s no place like this in the NFL. It’s a hard-working city, it’s a blue-collar city. We think that’s the type of team we have.”
Already without quarterbacks Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco were left without firepower after impressive rookie Brock Purdy injured his right elbow in the first quarter after a blow from Reddick.
He later re-entered the game in the third quarter after backup Josh Johnson sustained a concussion.
Purdy was 4-of-4 passing for 23 yards but threw just two short passes after returning despite the 49ers facing a large deficit. Johnson completed 7 of 13 passes for 74 yards
In Kansas City, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes scrambled for a first down on his badly sprained right ankle, then was shoved late out of bounds, giving Harrison Butker a chance to kick a 45-yard field goal with three seconds left that broke a 202-20 deadlock and sealed the match.
The Chiefs, the 2020 Super Bowl winners, finally managed to beat the Bengals after three straight losses, including a three-point overtime defeat in last year’s conference championship game.
Mahomes, who hurt his ankle against Jacksonville in the divisional round, threw for 326 yards and two touchdowns, even though he was missing three of his wide receivers to injuries by the fourth quarter.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling led the way with 116 yards and a touchdown.
Joe Burrow had 270 yards passing with a touchdown and two interceptions for Cincinnati. He was sacked five times.
with The AP
