PHILADELPHIA – Only one team gets the first crack at dethroning last season’s Super Bowl champion, the Philadelphia Eagles.
The 49ers, for all their injuries and faults, can do the honors in Sunday’s wild-card visit to Lincoln Financial Field.
“The confidence level is sky high,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk said.
The 49ers (12-5) crashed back to earth last Saturday night, however. With the NFC playoffs’ No. 1 seed at stake and a six-game win streak in tow, they bowed 13-3 to the now-top-seeded Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium, where the 49ers would have needed just three more wins to hoist the Lombardi Trophy on Feb. 8 in Super Bowl LX.
“It sucked what had happened and not capitalizing on a really good opportunity, but we are in the playoffs and we don’t have time to dwell on the negative things,” quarterback Brock Purdy said. “We’ve got to move on and flip the page pretty quickly because our season’s on the line now.”
None of the 49ers’ eight Super Bowl trips included a wild-card game, but they’ve won four straight in that round and are 6-2 overall, including a 2021 win at Dallas and ’22 against Seattle. Seven wild-card teams have won the Lombardi Trophy in the Super Bowl’s 59-year-history, the first being the 1980 Oakland Raiders against … the Eagles.
Purdy and the 49ers triumphed in their last Philadelphia visit, 42-19 on Dec. 3, 2023. However, their last playoff trip went sideways fast, with Purdy tearing his elbow ligament in a 31-7 loss in the 2022 season’s NFC Championship Game.
“I try not to hold onto grudges, because it clouds your judgment when you think about stuff that doesn’t matter,” tight end George Kittle said. “The only thing that matters to us is beating the Eagles — who we haven’t played in two years — back in the Linc, where it’s going to be an awesome environment.”
Here are five ways the 49ers can win:
1. GANG TACKLE BARKLEY
Perhaps too much attention is on the 49ers’ depleted linebacker corps. When it comes to tackling Saquon Barkley, the 49ers need any and all racing to the scene with full force to bring down the 2024 rushing champion.
Eric Kendricks, who’ll be the 49ers’ fourth starter at middle linebacker this season, said Barkeley is “just an instinctual runner. As soon as you kind of count him out or think he’s down, he’s making a pivot move, a spin move. He stays real low to the ground. He has a lot of power. It’s up to us to swarm.”
After 18 missed tackles and 180 rushing yards in last weekend’s loss to Seattle, the 49ers indeed better have learned their lesson, starting up front with a four- or five-man line that must make life easier for the in-flux linebacker corps.
Hurts has run for his fewest yards in four seasons as the Eagles’ starter, but the 49ers are aware of his escapability. After their 2023 win, they claimed they created a blueprint to stop him, by slowing up their pass rush to seal off lanes (seven carries, 20 yards).
2. OFFENSIVE ONSLAUGHT
Touchdowns on six consecutive drives in their 2023 win seemingly exorcised whatever ghostly feels Purdy may have had from his elbow injury against Philly in the NFC Championship Game. “I already went there in 2023 and played after what had happened in ’22, so I feel like that’s out of the way and ready to move on,” Purdy said.
What happened last month gives the 49ers assurance they can go on another scoring spree, even if it’s against the NFL’s fifth-stingiest scoring defense.
“We’ve been executing at a high level the whole season and just because we had one down game I don’t think that takes away from anyone’s confidence,” Juszczyk said. “We’re still the same team, still the same guys.”
The more their offense is on the field, the less vulnerable their defense will be. And the ultimate matchup dictating this game should be coach Kyle Shanahan’s play calls against those of Vic Fangio, the Eagles’ defensive coordinator who held that role on the 2011-14 49ers.
3. SHOOTING STAR
Purdy must outplay Jalen Hurts. Christian McCaffrey must outduel Barkley. George Kittle must produce more than Dallas Goedert. And Jauan Jennings must top A.J. Brown as productive yet combustible wide receivers.
So many household names are at the skill positions, and yet no one is more at the center of their offense’s universe than McCaffrey. “Probably one of the best all-purpose backs to ever do it,” Barkley told Philadelphia media. “I don’t know if he’s better than Marshall (Faulk) yet; he’s getting there.”
For perspective, McCaffrey accounted for a greater percentage of the 49ers’ production in all those categories than in his spectacular 2023 season. He’s run for 1,202 yards (66% of the 49ers’ total). He’s made 102 receptions (25.6%) for 924 yards (21.4%). He’s scored 17 touchdowns (35.4%) over all 17 starts.
And yet, McCaffrey is starting anew, entering the fourth playoff run of his nine-year career. “I feel great, playing playoff football with everything ahead of us,” said McCaffrey, who’s scored at least one touchdown in all seven of his career playoff games.
4. DON’T GET BULLIED
Four minutes remained in their NFC Championship Game duel when Trent Williams yanked a defensive back to the ground and threw a punch at a linebacker. Next time in Philadelphia, Dre Greenlaw got in a sideline tusstle with the Eagles’ security czar, “Big Dom” DiSandro.
The 49ers don’t need to keep the streak alive in getting one of their players ejected. But they must be ready for a physical battle as they take on the Rocky Balboa-esque underdog role against the defending champs.
Jalen Carter is one of the marquee defensive tackles the 49ers will have encountered this season, and coordinator Klay Kubiak said of their Eagles’ front: “All their interior players are really strong physical guys, and they’ve got really good edge setters.”
5. SOUND OF SILENCE
Rarely has the 49ers offense needed a silent count on the road this season, aside from the occasional third down or the season-opening chaos in Seattle. Philadelphia is different.
“It’s going to be loud,” right tackle Colton McKivitz said. “Kyle (Shanahan) showed some clips of us in ’23 there and the (previous) NFC Championship Game and us using silent on first and second down, which we try to avoid.”
The 49ers expect to open with a silent count to combat the Eagles’ crowd noise. Their starting offensive linemen are familiar with each other, not to mention center Jake Brendel’s head-bob signals and Purdy’s pre-snap cadence.
“That’s a huge advantage when you do go into an environment that’s loud and also we’ve played a lot of big games,” McKivitz said.
“Brock does a a tremendous, tremendous job of handling the snap even with the silent cadence,” Juszczyk said. “It’s more difficult but the payoff is better. There’s nothing like going into hostile territory and getting a win.”
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49ERS WILD-CARD HISTORY
1985 at New York Giants, 17-3 loss
1996 vs. Philadelphia, 14-0 win
1998 vs. Green Bay, 30-27 win
2001 at Green Bay, 25-15 loss
2002 vs. New York Giants, 39-38 win
2013 at Green Bay, 23-20 win
2021 at Dallas, 23-17 win
2022 vs. Seattle, 41-23 win
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WILD-CARD SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS
1980 Oakland Raiders
1997 Denver Broncos
2000 Baltimore Ravens
2005 Pittsburgh Steelers
2007 New York Giants
2010 Green Bay Packers
2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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