As the Philadelphia Eagles prepare to face off against the San Francisco 49ers in the Wild Card Round, several key factors come into play. The Niners' depleted linebacker corps, led by Eric Kendricks, presents a significant challenge for the Eagles' offense.
While the Eagles had similar success with the Bears in Week 13 when their opponents were starting with injured linebackers, they may need to adjust their strategy against the 49ers. By employing tempo and making positive plays on first down, the Eagles can put pressure on Kendricks to communicate defensive calls quickly, which could be difficult for a player who has only played 46 snaps this season.
The Niners' pass rush is also a concern, as they were able to secure just 20 sacks in 2025. The loss of Nick Bosa due to injury has left them without a clear leader, and their depth chart lacks household names. Bryce Huff and Clelin Ferrell are the only two players with double-digit sack totals, but neither has been particularly consistent.
On defense, the Eagles will face a run defense that is coming off a poor performance against the Seahawks in Week 18. The Niners were unable to tackle effectively, allowing Seattle's Kenneth Walker to run for a first down on third-and-long. However, with the Eagles' rested bodies and potential to call more designed runs through Jalen Hurts, they may be able to exploit this weakness.
The Eagles' passing game will also face challenges against the Niners' corners. Deommodore Lenoir, Renardo Green, and Upton Stout are not known for their size or athleticism, which could make it difficult for A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith to separate from them in coverage.
Ultimately, the key to success for the Eagles will be finding a cohesive identity on offense that can take advantage of the 49ers' weaknesses. After struggling with predictable and uncreative schemes throughout the season, the Eagles need to find something that works for them early and make it their focus going forward.
While the Eagles had similar success with the Bears in Week 13 when their opponents were starting with injured linebackers, they may need to adjust their strategy against the 49ers. By employing tempo and making positive plays on first down, the Eagles can put pressure on Kendricks to communicate defensive calls quickly, which could be difficult for a player who has only played 46 snaps this season.
The Niners' pass rush is also a concern, as they were able to secure just 20 sacks in 2025. The loss of Nick Bosa due to injury has left them without a clear leader, and their depth chart lacks household names. Bryce Huff and Clelin Ferrell are the only two players with double-digit sack totals, but neither has been particularly consistent.
On defense, the Eagles will face a run defense that is coming off a poor performance against the Seahawks in Week 18. The Niners were unable to tackle effectively, allowing Seattle's Kenneth Walker to run for a first down on third-and-long. However, with the Eagles' rested bodies and potential to call more designed runs through Jalen Hurts, they may be able to exploit this weakness.
The Eagles' passing game will also face challenges against the Niners' corners. Deommodore Lenoir, Renardo Green, and Upton Stout are not known for their size or athleticism, which could make it difficult for A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith to separate from them in coverage.
Ultimately, the key to success for the Eagles will be finding a cohesive identity on offense that can take advantage of the 49ers' weaknesses. After struggling with predictable and uncreative schemes throughout the season, the Eagles need to find something that works for them early and make it their focus going forward.
. And don't even get me started on the comment section being so slow today... I've been trying to post for like 5 minutes already! 
. Anyway, back to the game... so the Eagles need to find a cohesive identity on offense? Sounds easy enough, right? Wrong. This team has been all over the place this season and it's only going to take one big play for them to fall apart again 
. And what's up with the 49ers' pass rush? I mean, I know they're missing a leader or whatever, but can't they just get some decent pressure like normal teams do? It's not that hard 
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. That's gonna hurt 'em big time. And as for the Eagles' offense, I think their tempo strategy is gonna be way too much for Kendricks and company to handle 
. They need a solid gameplan if they wanna beat this team.
Not sure that's as big of a concern as everyone makes it out to be. And what's with all the hype about Jalen Hurts' running game? He's had some decent games, but I don't think he's gonna be able to exploit this weakness like they're making him out to be 
anyway back to football... if the eagles can master tempo and make those positive plays on first down, it'll be super hard for the niners to keep up 
i feel bad for kendricks tho, he's gotta communicate defensive calls so fast but our sports teacher, mr johnson, always says "communication is key" in team sports 
and I'm thinking, what's up with those San Francisco 49ers' linebackers? They're like the quarterback in a game of musical chairs - always worried about getting sacked 
. And have you seen the prices of avocado toast lately? Like, who can afford that stuff? 
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and on the other hand, i feel like they're giving away a lot of info about their defense lol. can't even keep it on the down low without some eagle fan blowing the whistle 
this game is gonna be tough for the eagles they gotta step up their tempo play and put some pressure on kendricks but at the same time they gotta watch out for huff and ferrell too that pass rush can be pretty intense ...and oof i hate when teams have weak run defense like the 49ers did last week lol jalen hurts better bring his a game tho! 
I think the key to beating the 49ers is having a solid game plan on both sides of the ball. The Eagles' offense needs to be able to exploit the Niners' linebacking corps by using that tempo you mentioned, making them call too many plays. At the same time, they need to create some pressure against Kendricks with Jalen Hurts running designed runs. On defense, they gotta shut down their run game and get some pressure on Trey Littrell, who's been solid for the Niners. The corners are gonna be a challenge, so A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith need to make big plays if they can separate from those guys. If the Eagles can find that cohesive identity and just execute, I think they've got this one! 
The 49ers' depleted linebacker corps is a big deal for the Eagles' offense... think they can exploit this? They had success against an injured Bears lineup, but Kendricks has been playing way more than anyone else on D so far 
. If the Eagles can establish a solid run game with Jalen Hurts and catch them off guard... that's the ticket! But they gotta find an identity on O that's not too predictable, or they'll get stuck in neutral 
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kendricks is prob their only strong linebacker but even he's been limited this season 
meanwhile, eagles gotta fix that run game 
... but at the same time, if we can just get some tempo going and make those positive plays on first down, maybe we can control the clock and not let kendricks get too caught up in calling defensive calls 
... what do you guys think?