Game Preview – SF at PHI

A weird regular season is in the books and we get to see the Eagles back in the postseason. They host the Niners this afternoon in an intriguing game. SF finished the season on a roll, winning 6 of 7 games. The Eagles won 3 of their last 4, only losing the finale when a lot of key players sat out the game. And we know these teams don’t really care for each other. Sounds like the makings of a good playoff game.

The Eagles overwhelmed SF back in the 2022 NFC title game, knocking out two QBs. That was one fun day. The Niners got some measure of revenge in 2023 when they came to Philly and dominated, winning 42-19. That was not a fun day. The teams managed to avoid each other last year.

When you think about the postseason, you think defense. This is an advantage for the Eagles. They have been the best defense in football since about midseason. They can rush. They can cover. They play the run well. This is a complete unit. And a healthy one. The Niners offense has also been on a roll in that same time frame. Can the Eagles handle a red hot offense?

Per NFL’s NextGen Stats, #49ers Brock Purdy completed 72.6% of passes on in-breaking routes (6th best) and threw in-breaking routes and 2nd highest rate (39.8%) to Mac Jones. Eagles allowed 51.9% completion % on in-breaking routes, the lowest mark in 10 seasons of NGS data

— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) January 9, 2026

Kyle Shanahan has gone up against Vic Fangio’s defense only four times. The last time was 2018. Shanahan’s offenses scored 11, 6, 15 & 9 points. His QBs were John Beck, Robert Griffin, Jimmy Garoppolo and Nick Mullens. Shanahan tried to hire Fangio in 2017, but Bears blocked it.

— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) January 6, 2026

Those are encouraging numbers for the Eagles, but this will be Brock Purdy and Christian McCafferey and that makes a difference. We’ve seen Vic Fangio’s unit shut down elite offenses so we know it can certainly happen. Just don’t count on limiting SF to 13 points or some other low total. This will be a challenge.

The real key will be, as we saw in 2022, winning the LOS. It sounds like LT Trent Williams will play, but he won’t be 100 percent. Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith need to win some of those battles. Jalen Carter will have an advantage over Dominick Puni. Jaelan Phillips should be able to get pressure off his side. The Eagles DL should be the superior group in the matchup. They must win and make some plays.

Purdy has been using his mobility more than ever this season so he won’t be a statue in the backfield. He’s shown the ability to move around and even create some plays. You don’t need to spy him, but rushers do need to stay under control and stay aware.

McCafferey will be an interesting challenge. He is a good runner, but is really special as a receiver. We’ve seen some RBs burn the Eagles in the pass game this season. Fangio will make McCafferey a focus of his defense so that will be different than the previous games where the RB was part of the offense than the key guy. Eagles safeties and LBs will need to cover well and tackle well. You don’t want CMC loose in space and turning short/medium gains into big plays. Zack Baun wasn’t voted All Pro this past week. He can show the voters they made a dumb mistake with a strong performance against a great player.

Fangio can’t sell out to stop McCafferey because TE George Kittle is another dangerous weapon over the middle of the field. He can catch the ball short and downfield. He’s also outstanding after the catch. SF loves RAC yards from all of their weapons. The Eagles defense must tackle well. Don’t let this group get loose in space.

The other side of the ball is more of a mystery for both teams. The Niners have an injury-depleted defense. They finished the season with 20 sacks. 20! That’s nuts. Over the last month they allowed 25 points and 121 rushing yards per game. Their overall numbers aren’t terrible, but many of the guys from early on are gone.

We’ve discussed the Eagles offense all year long, waiting for it to finally get going. Never really did. This is the postseason and that will mean everything is on the table. Expect Jalen Hurts to use his legs more often. You aren’t protecting yourself for tomorrow. You’re focused on winning today.

The game will be cold and windy so that could lead to additional focus on the run game. Saquon Barkley ran the ball better down the stretch. We’ll see how the coaches want to run the ball. That could be more under center stuff, heavier packages or more Cam Latu as a FB/lead blocker. The coaches have options. The real key will be the play of the OL. That group has struggled this season. Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens got last week off so that extra rest should help them.

What about Lane Johnson? He did practice this week and looked good to go. Then came word that he aggravated the injury. It sounds like he is going to try to play. We’ll have to see how effective he is. If Lane is able to go and play reasonably well, that’s a huge upgrade for the offense and would make the run game all the more effective.

The OL should be able to give Jalen Hurts time to throw. It is then up to him and the receivers to make plays. That can be tough on a windy day. Hurts likes to throw downfield. Wind doesn’t work well with that. AJ Brown has a size advantage over Niners DBs so he should be able to catch slants and some other shorter stuff. This could also be a good day for Dallas Goedert.

I don’t fully trust the Eagles offense, but they won’t be facing Fred Warner, Nick Bosa and the other Niner defensive stars. Eric Kendricks and Bryce Huff will be in their place today. If you can’t beat those guys, you don’t deserve to win in January. This is a game the Eagles should win. Nothing is guaranteed of course. You never know when an unknown guy or over-the-hill vet will have a great game. That’s the beauty of football. Reality doesn’t always reflect what you see on paper. It is up to the Eagles to go win the game.

We got a pair of great games yesterday. Hopefully Nick Sirianni paid attention to what happened.

If there’s a lesson learned from the first two playoff games, don’t take your foot off the gas. The Panthers went into a soft shell defense they hadn’t played all day on the Rams’ final drive, and the Packers’ offense went conservative after building a 21-3 lead.

— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) January 11, 2026

Saturday was a reminder that football games are 60 minutes. You can be up or down. Do not celebrate if up. Do not panic if down. Just keep playing for the full 60 minutes.

Go Eagles!

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