4 Matchups The Eagles Need To Win Vs The 49ers

The playoffs are finally here. The Eagles host the 49ers this Sunday at 4:30, with everything on the line. Two teams that have a decent amount of bad blood. The Eagles stomped the Niners in the playoffs in 2022. The 49ers repaid the favor in 2023 by turning the Eagles' season on its head. Now, they meet again, in Philly, in the playoffs.

The 49ers limp into the playoffs with an injury report longer than a CVS receipt. The Eagles enter the game with almost all of their starters available, though several key figures are banged up. Will that be the edge the Eagles need? Can they send the Niners back to San Francisco and off to an early vacation? If the Eagles are going to keep their season alive, they need to win these 4 matchups.

The most dangerous man on the field, arguably on either side of the ball, is McCaffrey. After his 2024 season was ruined by injuries, the 49ers RB came back with a vengeance. 2126 yards from scrimmage and 17 total TDS.

The thing is, it is not on the ground that you need to worry about him. He averages just 3.9 yards per carry. If they try to run him up the middle against this Eagles D-Line, he is going to go nowhere. But he can kill teams in the passing game, and leads all RBs with 924 yards through the air. In fact, he leads the Niners in passing yards.

The Niners' offense goes through McCaffrey. He is priority number one. Do not let him get into open space. Luckily, the Eagles LBs are some of the best in coverage in the league. Zack Baun and Nakobe Dean excel at that aspect of the game, and Jihaad Campbell has had great success there as well, outside of one rough game vs the Bucs.

If they can contain McCaffrey, it is hard to imagine the 49ers being able to do much against this Eagles defense. The rest of the offense is too beat up.

The 49ers' LB room is so depleted that they needed to sign players off the street before a playoff game. Fred Warner is out. Dee Winters got injured in week 18 and has yet to practice this week. Their primary backup, Tatum Bethune, tore his groin in week 18 and is done for the season. Luke Gifford is limited in practice and is mostly just a special teams guy. But that is where they are at. The only LB on their team that might play is the Special Teams guy.

In their place will be a 33-year-old Eric Kendricks, who has played in only 3 games this season. Kendricks is solid, given he is their 5th option. But if he is your best LB on the field, you are in trouble. They also signed Kyzir White off the street.

Dallas Goedert needs to feast. The plan should be to get the ball to him early and often. That is the most obvious mismatch for them. Goedert had a career year, racking up 11 TDs. He needs a couple of those this week.

The 49ers might be without Trent Williams. Even if he is out there, the Eagles' D-Line should be able to dominate the 49ers' O-Line. They are one of the smaller O-lines in the league. The Eagles' D-Line is one of the larger units in the league. Brock Purdy likes to hold onto the ball. Are you starting to see how the Eagles could take advantage here?

After the trade deadline, with the addition of Jaelan Phillips, one could argue that no unit has been better than the Eagles' D-Line. Jalen Carter, when healthy, is one of the best players in the league. Jordan Davis has been a force this season. Moro Ojomo has played at a high level. And Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt have been great since the addition of Phillips.

We have seen this unit take over games. This feels like it can be one of those games. Especially if the 49ers don't have Trent Williams out there.

We mentioned that Goedert needs to take advantage of this matchup. So does Barkley. The Seahawks gained 171 yards on them last week in a game that decided the NFC West.

The issue is that the Eagles have faced bad run Ds and failed to step up in the past. The Bills have a terrible run defense, arguably the worst in the league, and they stymied the Eagles' run game. But you have to hope the rest pays off for the Eagles' O-Line. If they come out looking fresh, Saquon can make some noise and take over this game.