It's safe to say the 49ers' 2023 NFC Championship Game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles left a sour taste in their mouths.
San Francisco has tried to move on from the game, despite the countless questions and "what-if" scenarios players have been asked about in interviews, but now the 49ers are ready to seek vengeance on the same team that held them back from a trip to Super Bowl LVII.
"For sure excited to get back down there again this season," 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk said on a recent episode of "The Richard Sherman Podcast." "I'm sure they'll make it a big game, a primetime game for everybody watching, and we definitely got that one circled on the calendar.
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"But we got some things to do before we get to that point. But we're definitely excited to get another chance at playing them."
That circle on the calendar can be found in early December when San Francisco will get another chance for a victory in Philadelphia. The 49ers are scheduled to face the Eagles on Sunday, Dec. 3 at 1:25 p.m. PT at Lincoln Financial Field.
The 49ers rode a 12-game winning streak into the City of Brotherly Love to face the top-seeded Eagles in the NFC title game, but the highly anticipated showdown quickly became a disaster for San Francisco as third-string-quarterback-turned-starter Brock Purdy sustained an elbow injury and backup Josh Johnson entered but then sustained a concussion and was too removed from the contest. Purdy was forced to return to action, though he physically couldn't throw the ball.
San Francisco 49ers
To no surprise, the Eagles won the game and advanced to the Super Bowl with a 31-7 victory.
Five months later, 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel avoided questions during an interview with "The Zach Gelb Show" earlier this month, abruptly hanging up and leaving the interview following a series of questions about the game and the Eagles.
After Philadelphia fell to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 57, Aiyuk and the 49ers realized there was nothing to talk about anymore.
"[Samuel] had gone on there, and we done talking about it," Aiyuk told Sherman. "It is what it is. We ain't win a championship, they ain't win a championship, so really isn't much to talk about. That's really what we want to do."
While Super Bowl LVIII is their main focus, the 49ers certainly will be extra motivated against the Eagles this winter.
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