Game Preview – PHI at SF

Posted: October 4th, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on Game Preview – PHI at SF

If the Eagles can beat the Niners tonight, they will be in first place, atop the NFC East. That sounds simple enough. If I marry Kate Beckinsale tonight, we’ll be on our honeymoon and talking about the first place Eagles!!!

Focusing on the result and not the difficulty of the challenge is not a good way to go through life. I’m sure my future wife will agree with me on that.

Beyond the idea of whether the Eagles can beat the Niners is the question of whether this team being in first place would be a good thing. The last thing we want is a 7-8-1 season with a pathetic division title, with Doug Pederson and Howie Roseman talking about how the team overcame adversity and is trending upward.

It would be fun for the 1-2-1 Eagles to be in first place so we could taunt the Cowboys and Giants fans in our lives. I spent the last week joking with some friends that the Eagles were the hottest team in the NFC East since they didn’t lose last week. Technically true, but incredibly sad.

Back to the question of whether the Eagles can win. Yes, of course they can. Every NFL team has a week when things go their way. They catch tipped balls. Refs miss a key holding call. Players make plays they normally wouldn’t.

The Niners are the better team right now, despite the fact they are also very banged up. They have definitive offensive and defensive schemes and execute them well.

The Eagles actually matchup pretty well with SF. The Niners love to run the ball. The Eagles usually play the run well. The Niners defense can be vulnerable to the run. The Eagles have run the ball well each of the past two weeks.

But…and there is always a but…the Eagles have major injuries at OL, WR and CB. Jordan Mailata will be making his first NFL start. You can bet SF will attack him relentlessly. They’ll also go after Matt Pryor at RG. Carson Wentz can’t play better if he doesn’t have time to throw. The OL has to give him a chance to make plays. The Eagles caught a break in not having to face Nick Bosa. It will be hard enough stopping the guys they do have.

If Wentz does have time, will he have anywhere to throw?

WR – John Hightower
Slot – Greg Ward
WR – Travis Fulgham

Hightower has big time speed. Ward is a reliable receiver in the middle of the field. Fulgham is a mystery. I don’t think SF is in panic mode on how to handle these guys. We’ve seen guys step up and make plays over the years so maybe this group will surprise everyone. It just feels like the Eagles offense has a major uphill battle.

I think they should feed the ball to the RBs as much as possible, run or pass. Miles Sanders is a legit weapon. Boston Scott has good speed. Corey Clement can be a solid contributor. All of those guys have come up big in key games in the past. See if they can deliver tonight.

The Eagles defense got shredded by the Rams motion. SF does a lot of the same things. Jim Schwartz said he had a terrible gameplan that week and took most of the blame on his shoulders. We’ll see just how much he learned.

The pressure will be on the LBs and safeties.

If this happens, rookie K’Von Wallace will likely be the #3 safety and getting his first extended playing time. Not ideal. Moving guys around before facing a Kyle Shanahan offense is not something you want to do. Another uphill battle.

The Eagles DL did come alive last week. If  those guys can deliver a monster game, that changes things in a big way.

Can the Eagles D come up with their first takeaway of the season? That would be a huge help in this game.

Since I’m not saying a whole lot of optimistic things here, let me leave you with something that is uplifting.

I wonder if she like Funyuns?

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