No More Forty Whining — 49ers at Eagles Preview

Ever since the final second ran off the clock on January 29th in the NFC Championship the San Francisco 49ers have been running their mouths. For a little refresher, in the first quarter of that game, Haason Reddick forced a fumble on Quarterback Brock Purdy. On that hit, Purdy tore his UCL and was out for the rest of that game. Then, backup Quarterback Josh Johnson was sacked and left the game with a concussion. The 49ers were then left without a Quarterback and lost the game 31-7.

Since that game ended, the 49ers players, coaches, media, and fans have been taking endless shots at the Eagles and the city of Philadelphia. While yes, the game would have obviously been different if Brock Purdy had never gotten injured, the narrative that they did not get a fair chance is just wrong. Coming into the game Purdy was healthy, and his injury was a direct correlation to bad coaching. On the play he got injured, the 49ers offensive coaching staff had a backup tight end blocking Haason Reddick one on one. Reddick won at the line, and did what he does best. That is not luck, that is just bad coaching.

Now fast forwarding back to the present, this may be the biggest game the Eagles play all season. If the Eagles win this game, they can just about guarantee that the 49ers will not have the number one seed. A win would give the Eagles a four-game lead on them for that coveted one seed, with just five games left to play. The way the Eagles will get the one seed will start by going through Dallas for the division. This would essentially eliminate the 49ers from getting that seed which would be insane.

Hot Start

One of the biggest keys to the winning of this game for the Eagles is for the offense to get out to a hot start. The 49ers are a great front-running team, but they have not shown they can come from behind. According to Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports, Jalen Hurts has a 136.6 passer rating while trailing in the second half, which leads in the NFL. While Brock Purdy has a 60.8 passer rating while trailing in the second half, which is the worst in the NFL. Brock Purdy has not shown in the NFL so far that he can come back in games, and the Eagles need to take advantage of that.

While it is great the Eagles are winning games, their current formula may not be sustainable. The Eagles have shown that they are a great 4th quarter team, but they can not keep living on the edge forever. While the 49ers are not good at coming back in games, they are great when they are leading games. The Eagles must jump out to a lead early.

They Go As McCaffrey Goes

The most important, and best, player for the 49ers is Christian McCaffrey. The 49ers team goes as McCaffery goes. During their 3-game losing streak earlier in the season McCaffrey was held to just 54, 45, and 43 yards rushing. McCaffrey is obviously dangerous in the running game, but he is also extremely dangerous in the passing game as well. With Nakobe Dean and Zach Cunningham out for this game, the 49ers will try and exploit the banged-up Eagles linebacker core. Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter will have to make sure he does not get to the second level.

The weakest point of the 49ers offense is their offensive line. While they do have future Hall of Famer Trent Williams, the rest of their line is not great. The Eagles have a great defensive line, and they wrecked the game last year when they played. Purdy is not a mobile quarterback, and he is not successful when he is pushed off his spot. However, Brock Purdy has proven a lot of people wrong, but he has shown that if things are not perfect, he will not win. In the 49ers’ three losses, they were missing pieces of their offense. The 49ers offense is healthy coming into this game, but the Eagles defensive line has a chance to wreck this game.

Positive Injury News

The Eagles got some positive news on the Friday injury report as Dallas Goedert practiced in a limited capacity. He is officially listed as doubtful for the game, but the fact that he was able to get on the field is a great sign for either this week or next. The Eagles also got great news from Lane Johnson‘s girlfriend Kelsey’s TikTok account as she posted a video saying that he will be playing in this game. With Nick Bosa on the other side, it is massive to have Lane back.

The 49ers are coming into this game mostly healthy, but they did list Arik Armstead as Questionable