Jan. 11, 2026, 6:45 p.m. PT

The San Francisco 49ers traveled across the country for a wild-card showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field, and Kyle Shanahan’s team earned a 23-19 win to keep their season alive.

San Francisco was far from their best in this battle, but they did just enough to secure the victory.

As we do after every game, let’s take a look at some of the best and worst performances from the 49ers on Sunday and hand out some credit and criticism.

BEST: WR Demarcus Robinson

Robinson missed the first three games of the season with a suspension, and he wasn’t much of a factor for the rest of the year, catching just 22 passes for 276 yards and a score. He was fantastic on Sunday when the team needed him, catching six passes for 111 yards and a touchdown.

Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.WORST: QB Brock Purdy

Purdy may have thrown two touchdowns in this one, but he also threw two interceptions to Quinyon Mitchell on some ugly throws. A quarterback who’s normally very efficient completed just 58.1% of his passes.

BEST: The entire defense

How many injuries has this unit dealt with? They don’t have Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, Mykel Williams, Dee Winters, Tatum Bethune, Nick Martin or Luke Gifford before losing Ji’Ayir Brown in the first half. They still held the Eagles to just 19 points. They deserve a ton of praise for their effort.

WORST: RB Christian McCaffrey, the runner

McCaffrey has struggled on the ground for a lot of the year, and that wasn’t much different in this one, as he carried the ball 15 times for 48 yards (3.2 yards per attempt).

BEST: RB Christian McCaffrey, the receiver

McCaffrey continued to be a go-to target in the passing game. He hauled in six passes for 66 yards and two touchdowns, one from Purdy and one from Jauan Jennings.

WORST: Special Teams

Skyy Moore called for a fair catch at his own 5-yard line. Thomas Morstead had two shanked punts. Eddy Pineiro missed an extra point. That’s not a recipe for success.

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