The Eagles will host the San Francisco 49ers this Sunday on Wild Card Weekend. Entering the wildcard, the 49ers are coming off a 13-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. San Francisco had the chance at the first seed but fell all the way down to the sixth seed. The Eagles lost 24-17 at home in their last game of the regular season where the Eagles rested their starters. Both teams had up and down roller coaster seasons this year and the 49ers are the epitome of that.
Coming into the year, the 49ers were last in their division last season with a 6-11 record. They had a lot of injuries last season which included star players, Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, and Brandon Aiyuk. San Francisco moved on from Deebo in the offseason, trading him to the Commanders. Over the course of the season the 49ers dealt with many injuries to their key players like Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Fred Warner, and Aiyuk missed all of the season. Fred Warner was injured earlier in the year and has missed all of the season.
Purdy was in and out of the lineup but in his place Mac Jones had some good games. McCaffrey was the consistent piece this season, having 1,202 rushing yards and 924 receiving yards to go with 17 touchdowns. Purdy had three straight games down the stretch of the season where he had 295 passing yards or more and the 49ers scored 37 or more points as a team during that stretch. In the past seven games they closed the season out 6-1.
The Eagles came into the year as the reigning defending Super Bowl Champions. Saquon Barkley came off a historic season with over 2,000 rushing yards and winning offensive player of the year. The Eagles all season long have been dealing with offensive struggles especially with new offensive coordinator Kevin Petullo. A.J. Brown was disgruntled throughout the season due to a lack of touches. Saquon wouldn’t have the same amount of production he had last season. Despite the offensive issues, Devonta Smith and A.J Brown had over 1,000 receiving yards. The offense would struggle at times but the defense has been consistent this season.
The 49ers will be without linebacker Tatum Bethune for the Wild Card. Trent Williams and Ricky Pearsall are questionable and haven’t practiced so far as both are key for this team. The offense has been electric for the 49ers but the defense has to be able to get key stops as well.
The Eagles simply need their offense to show up. Quarterback Jalen Hurts will have to lead his team offensively which he is very capable of doing. Saquon Barkley is the key. When he is able to get going, Philly is hard to beat. The offense had a lot of woes across the season and will have to see where they fall. The last time the 49ers were in the postseason, they made the Super Bowl and now the Eagles look to repeat as their quest for the title begins this Sunday January 11 at home.
