Former Alabama All-American DeVonta Smith provided the first highlight-reel play of the NFL’s conference-championship Sunday with a one-handed reception for the Philadelphia Eagles. Or did he?

With the Eagles facing fourth-and-3 at the San Francisco 49ers 35-yard line on their first possession of the NFC Championship Game, Philadelphia coach Nick Sirianni bypassed a 53-yard field-goal attempt on a rainy day at Lincoln Financial Field to go for it.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, a former Crimson Tide teammate of Smith’s, lofted a pass down the left sideline that the leaping Philadelphia wide receiver pulled out of the air with this right hand for a 29-yard gain.

Smith hopped up and urged his teammates to get to the line of scrimmage quickly. Hurts threw an incomplete pass, and on the next play, Eagles running back Miles Sanders ran 6 yards for the game’s first points with 9:48 left in the first quarter.

San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan did not challenge Smith’s catch, but replays seemed to indicate that 49ers defensive back Jimmie Ward, a former Davidson High School star, had knocked the football out of Smith’s grasp and it had hit the ground before Smith resecured it.

On the FOX telecast of the game, the network’s officiating expert, Mike Pereira, said the reception would have been overturned had the 49ers prompted officials to review the play.

After winning the 2020 Heisman Trophy for Alabama’s undefeated CFP championship team, Smith joined the Eagles as the 10th selection in the 2021 NFL Draft.

In his second NFL season, Smith had 95 receptions for 1,196 yards for seven touchdowns during the regular season, and he caught a touchdown pass in last week’s 38-7 playoff victory against the New York Giants.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.