6 Niners Players Who Could Give The Eagles Trouble On Sunday

Finally, the rematch everyone in the NFL has been waiting for arrives. Eagles vs Niners. The Niners players in particular have really waited for this game. They did the thing you are not supposed to do and talked more trash after they lost. Of course, the reason they lost last time had nothing to do with who was the better team. No despite being blown out, they would have won if Brock Purdy stayed healthy.

If we are sick of hearing about it, I have to imagine the Eagles players are sick of it too. They are doing a great job staying professional and not feeding into the toxicity from the Niners. But I find it hard to believe James Bradberry gets no extra motivation from Deebo Samuel calling him trash.

But with all that said, this is a good team. The 49ers are capable of putting up big points and have a pretty good defense to go with it. There is a reason why they are 2nd in point differential. They have blown out a lot of teams this year. And not just bad teams like the Cowboys keep running up the score on. The 49ers have blown out teams like the Cowboys and Jaguars.

They do have one flaw though, close games. If they aren't putting up crooked numbers, and the game gets close, they struggle to pull out wins. They are 1-2 in 1-score games. And while having only played in 3 one score games says a lot about how good they are, losing two of those 3 games says a lot about some of the issues they have.

So the key to beating the Niners may just be to keep it close. It is easier said than done though. And the 49ers have a lot of players that contribute to how many blowout wins they have this year.

This one is obvious. McCaffrey is one of the most dynamic players in the NFL, period. He can break the game open as both a runner and a reciever. And as he goes, this Niners offense goes. He has been held under 60 rushing yards just 4 times this season. The Niners are 1-3 in those games. But when he gets going, the 49ers don’t just win, they win big. The Eagles have mostly been great against the run. Isiah Pacheco got the best of them, but they have at the very least slowed down every other RB they faced. And containing McCaffrey may be the most important thing the Eagles have to do this Sunday.

Not many modern Off-Ball Linebackers can be defined as game-changers, but Fred Warner is certainly one of them. Warner has 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. But his true value may not even be reflected in the stats. Watch one of their games, and he is constantly around the ball. If he is not getting the tackle, he is running the ball carrier into someone who does get the tackle. He is a big reason why the 49ers are in the top 5 of Rush Defenses. And running on the Niners while he is chasing down D'Andre Swift will certainly be a tough test.

When you think of Tight Ends you usually think of guys picking up yards in 10-15 yard chunks. And Kittle can do that. But more than most Tight Ends, he is also a threat for big plays. Kittle has been among the league's best TEs for a few years now, with only Travis Kelce having a clear case for being better. And the Eagles are very banged up at linebacker. Kevin Byard had the tough test of slowing down Kelce two weeks ago and passed with flying colors. It’s likely his number will be called on again to contain George Kittle.

The Niners as a team have a very dangerous D-Line, and it starts with Nick Bosa. Since 2020, only 4 players have more sacks than he does. Haason Reddick is one of those players by the way. He already has 8 this season. In the NFC Championship game, Lane Johnson pretty much shut him down despite playing with a torn abductor. Lane is dealing with some injury issues again, and he will certainly have a tough test this week with Bosa lined up against him. But if anyone in the league is up to the test, it is Lane.

Aiyuk kind of flies under the radar in terms of top WRs in the NFL. But he had a career-high 1,015 yards last season, and already has 881 yards and 5 TDs this season. On a team with Kittle, McCaffrey, and Deebo Samuel, it is Aiyuk that leads the team in receiving yards. And if the Eagles focus on Kittle or McCaffrey too much, Aiyuk is definitely someone who can beat them.

After Bosa, the next most dangerous pass rusher on the Niners is a familiar face. Javon Hargrave. Hargrave has 6 sacks so far on the season. Eagles’ fans know well how dangerous he can be. And the Eagles have struggled, at least in the first half, to protect Jalen Hurts. The interior of the Eagles line needs to keep Hargrave out if Hurts face. They cant keep relying on second-half comebacks. And protecting Hurts in the first half plays a big part in accomplishing that.