Week 2 Preview: San Francisco 49ers (1-0) at Philadelphia Eagles (1-0)

Well, that was fun. The Philadelphia Eagles are flying high into their home opener on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers. The Birds are coming off of a somewhat surprising demolition of the Atlanta Falcons a week ago, defeating the Dirty Birds by a score of 32-6.

 

Nick Sirianni, Jonathan Gannon, and the rest of the new coaching staff were spectacular in their Eagles debuts. It was the most organized and methodical performance we have seen from the Eagles in quite some time. The entire team looked crisp, fundamentally sound, and confident. Dare I say it, this team might be fun to watch in 2021.

 

 

As for San Francisco, the Niners are coming off of a 41-33 (look familiar?) victory over the lowly Detroit Lions in their season opener. However, the win came at a cost, as the 49ers suffered a couple significant injuries to starters. Starting running back Raheem Mostert and starting cornerback Jason Verrett were each placed on the injured being diagnosed with season-ending injuries. Furthermore, starting linebacker Dre Greenlaw is having core muscle surgery and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.

 

Couple those significant injuries with the fact that San Fran will be playing their second consecutive game in a different time zone, and you get a potential advantage for the hometown Birds. Even considering those factors, the 49ers still open as 3 or 3.5 point favorites for Sunday’s game in Philadelphia, depending on where you place your bet.

 

San Francisco has a deep squad. Despite a down year a season ago, they were a Patrick Mahomes comeback away from winning Super Bowl LIV two years ago. The Niners will not be taken lightly.

 

Eagles Offense vs. 49ers Defense

 

Ah, So THIS Is An NFL Offense

I think there was some serious underestimation of Jalen Hurts heading into last week, and that includes myself. While I do still have some questions about his arm strength and accuracy against a team that’s not as putrid as the Falcons, Hurts deserves endless praise this week. Intangibles aside, this guy is the definition of a winner.

 

He has the attitude that this city has always praised with it’s athletes, and that should not go unnoticed. Hurts is the polar opposite of a certain Australian athlete Philly has come to know.

 

 

According to Reuben Frank of NBC Sports Philadelphia, Hurts now has three games where he totaled at least 250 pass yards and at least 60 rush yards. Only six quarterback in the history of the NFL have more such games, with Cam Newton in the lead having achieved that feat seven times.

 

Oh, and Jalen Hurts has started just five games in his career. That’s right, three of his five NFL starts have resulted in something truly historical. According to Pro Football Focus, Hurts was the top ranked quarterback under duress in week one, despite facing nine pressures. Jalen Hurts is nowhere close to a finished product, but if this is who he is as a raw talent, then Hurts has some legitimate potential.

 

Moving forward, the Eagles are going to have to actually attempt a pass further than 20 yards down the field. They didn’t have to against Atlanta, and that’s fine. However, against a tough defense like San Francisco, Sirianni is going to open up the offense a little bit and likely stretch the field. Dollars to donuts, we’ll find out this Sunday if Hurts has the capable arm strength to do so.

 

Speaking of legitimate potential, how about Devonta Smith? In game one of his NFL career, he was everything the Eagles hoped he would be when they drafted him 10th overall. Smith hauled in six receptions for 71 yards and his first career touchdown on his first career catch last Sunday. At one point, he and Hurts connected on four straight plays.

 

Smith played by far the most of any Eagles skill player, as he was on the field for 87% of the Birds offensive snaps. That stat signifies how much the Eagles trust him as their number one receiver already, even more so than the six receptions. Smith is only scratching the surface of how good he can be. He even does the things that won’t show up on a stat sheet.

 

 

Running back Miles Sanders may have played his best game as an Eagle last Sunday. Sanders eclipsed my projection of 100 all-purpose yards against Atlanta, totalling 74 yards on the ground and an additional 39 through the air. Seeing Sanders’ role expanded in Sirianni’s offense was a breath of fresh air.

 

Last season, it felt like fans (me) were banging their heads against the wall in frustration because Doug Pederson refused to give him the football. Expect Sanders to have similar opportunities to contribute this week, despite the Niners ferocious front seven.

 

The Eagles offensive line certainly had some bright spots last Sunday, despite the abundance of penalties called against them. Those aforementioned penalty calls played a key role in most of the stalled Eagles possessions. There were three infractions called against right tackle Lane Johnson alone.

 

However, there were still some great things that the o-line did. Jason Kelce continued to amaze in his ability to lead block on outside play calls, whether it be stretch runs or screens. The fact that Brandon Brooks was even able to play, let alone play well, is an accomplishment in and of itself. The story, however, was Philly’s new favorite Aussie. Left tackle Jordan Mailata, fresh off of a four year, $64 million extension, proved he may just be worth every penny last Sunday.

 

 

The offensive line will surely have it’s work cut out for them this week, going up against an intimidating front seven for the 49ers.

 

How The Birds Matchup With The Niners Defense

En route to their Super Bowl appearance in 2019, the San Francisco 49ers boasted a top ten defensive unit that ranked as the best all around defense against the pass. While some of that 2019 defense is gone, key contributors like defensive end Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner remain as some of the best at their position. Even without Bosa a year ago due to injury, the Niners remained among the NFL’s elite defensive units, ranking as the fifth best defense in terms of total yards allowed.

 

That same tenacious defense was on full display a week ago against Detroit. The 49ers surrendered just 17 points to the Lions through 58 minutes and seven seconds of game time, and even produced a touchdown of their own. In the final two minutes, though, the Lions were able to put 16 points on the board. While the score looks close, the Lions did that damage in the final two minutes against a Niners defense made up of backups and players who knew the game was over.

 

The key clash to watch will be in the trenches. The Niners unsurprisingly have one of the best defensive lines in the league. The aforementioned Bosa is a legit stud, and Dee Ford and Arik Armstead are good pass rushers. Second year defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw is a clog in the middle, and should be a force in the running game.

 

The Eagles will try to match that with one of the most talented and veteran offensive lines in the league. Expect the Eagles o-line and Niners d-line to exchange dominance all afternoon. This will be a great test for the young Jordan Mailata. If I were to infer, I’d expect Bosa to take his chances against Lane Johnson a lot on Sunday. While Johnson wasn’t necessarily bad outside of the penalty calls against him, he hasn’t been nearly as good in pass protection as Mailata has been since he became a starter.

 

The Niners secondary may not have guys that garner individual attention, but as a whole they are extremely solid. They could take a step back with the loss of starter Jason Verrett, but don’t expect them to struggle mightily. It should be one of the tougher tests the Eagles receiving corps face all season.

 

At linebacker, Warner is truly one of the NFL’s elite players. He excels against the run and in pass coverage. He’s recorded over 100 tackles in every year of his career, has three interceptions to his name, along with 21 pass breakups, an impressive number for a linebacker. Warner is a first-team all pro for a reason. You’ll hear his name often on Sunday.

 

Eagles Defense vs. 49ers Offense

 

Defensive Renaissance

The Eagles defense had an unprecedented dominant performance against Atlanta last Sunday. While they were gashed by a running attack featuring a guy wearing #84 in the first couple of drives, they stonewalled the Falcons in the red zone. The Eagles allowed just two field goals in the first half, and that was it.

 

It felt as if the defense got stronger as the game went along. The defensive line dominated Atlanta’s piss poor offensive line. Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave contributed with two huge fourth quarter sacks. While Hargrave was originally considered a waste of money in free agency a year ago, he really turned it around with a late season surge in 2020 and his performance Sunday. If he can continue to wreak havoc in games alongside Fletcher Cox, the Eagles will once again boast a top defensive line unit.

 

The Birds secondary had what was likely their best performance in years. There’s no exaggeration there. The Eagles have had issues in the secondary, specifically at corner, ever since Asante Samuel left town over a decade ago. That was not the case on Sunday, as Darius Slay played his best game in midnight green, Steven Nelson impressed in his Eagles debut, and Avonte Maddox shined at nickel, proving he should have been there along.

 

 

The Eagles will once again be without safety Rodney McLeod, which was expected. However, McLeod is the only player listed on the Eagles injury report as out for the game heading into the weekend. Marcus Epps, who suffered a concussion in the first quarter last week, is officially listed as questionable. A decision on his game status will be made on Saturday.

 

I’m still extremely worried about the linebackers on this team. Genard Avery was so confused out there that it looked like he didn’t know whether to scratch his watch or his behind. There was an instance where Avery literally chased after Matt Ryan on a handoff, and allowed a huge cutback lane for the running back. Eric Wilson, while he led the team in tackles, still missed a ton of tackles as well. He also got shook out of his boots by the same 36-year-old immobile quarterback that Avery was chasing after.

 

 

Color me concerned. Also, contrary to the first statement in the tweet above, the Eagles best linebacker is Alex Singleton. He has continued to impress as the most sure-handed tackler in the back seven of the defense, and proved so with the most solo tackles (3) of any linebacker on the Eagles.

 

Stop The Run

If the Eagles want to stop the 49ers offense, they need to focus on stopping the run. Even though the Niners lost starting back Raheem Mostert for the year last weekend, they also proved that it doesn’t matter who’s running the ball for them. Rookie Elijah Mitchell filled in nicely for Mostert, as he rushed for over 100 yards in his first career game.

 

With Kyle Shanahan’s intuitive offense and an extremely efficient offensive line, the Niners rushing attack won’t miss a beat without Mostert. The good news for the Eagles in this situation is that they have traditionally been a fantastic rush defense. The Eagles have been in the top 10 in rushing defense every year since 2017. This is mostly due to the great defensive line the Birds employ.

 

This is the instance where the Eagles linebacker situation becomes an issue. The defensive line can only do so much, as they can’t always play their gaps and also make the tackle. This is where the linebackers come in to fill the holes and make the tackles. However, as I noted before, the Eagles linebackers have struggled to tackle. This will be the main thing to watch in terms of Eagles D vs. Niners O.

 

The reason that stopping the run is so essential against this squad is because San Fran’s passing attack isn’t their strong suit. The 49ers passing attack has been led by Jimmy Garoppolo, who has built up the reputation of being a game manager at best. He has the tendency to fold and turn the ball over against good defenses. He has also not fared well when he has been leaned upon when the rushing attack isn’t working.

 

This is exactly why it’s imperative the Eagles stop the run. The Birds want Jimmy G to try and beat them. If he comes out and plays well, then so be it, the Eagles will take their chances defending Garoppolo and his inconsistencies. They will have to be sure to shut down the Niners weapons through the air, as Garoppolo at least has some good receivers to throw to.

 

Receiver Deebo Samuel had a great week one, surpassing 189 receiving yards on nine catches. He has battled injuries throughout his career, but remains a speed demon. The Niners top weapon, though, is tight end George Kittle. The Iowa product is widely regarded as one of the three best tight ends in the league, and was one of the main reasons San Fran reached the Super Bowl two years ago.

 

Kittle struggled a season ago with offensive production, but that can largely be associated with inconsistent quarterback play and his own injury issues. The Eagles don’t have a good answer for him, as was seen in last year’s matchup. Kittle put up other wordly numbers for a tight end, hauling in 15 receptions, 183 receiving yards, and a touchdown. Unless the Eagles want to put the smaller, but more stifling, Avonte Maddox across from him, there isn’t a linebacker on this team that can guard Kittle one-on-one.

 

 

 

My Prediction

 

The Linc should be rocking for the Birds home opener. The optimism surrounding the beloved hometown Eagles has returned after last week’s beatdown in Atlanta. The young Eagles are home underdogs against the experienced 49ers.

 

This should be a close, defensive battle throughout. Don’t expect to see the scoreboard lighting up on Sunday, despite what you saw from both offenses last week. The key to an Eagles victory will be getting ahead early and holding onto that lead. If they are able to do this, the Birds will force the Niners to abandon the run game to some extent, and force Garoppolo to beat them.

 

That being said, I think the 49ers score the first touchdown, as they take advantage of an over-hyped Eagles team. The game will remain tight heading into the fourth quarter, with the 49ers ahead 16-10. Jalen Hurts leads the Birds down the field to score the go ahead touchdown, as he scores from a yard out on a zone read. Hurts doesn’t have as gaudy of a box score as last week, but he still plays well despite throwing his first interception of the season.

 

Playing with the lead and under two minutes to go, the Eagles defense allows the Niners to get into field goal range after Kyle Shanahan dials up some genius play calls. Robbie Gould drills a 48-yard field goal as time expires, giving the 49ers a hard fought road victory. 49ers beat the Eagles, 19-17.

 

If I Were A Betting Man: Under 49.5 total points should be the main play. Also confident the Eagles cover +3.5.

 

Broadcast Information

Time: 1:00 P.M. EDT
TV: FOX (Adam Amin, Mark Schlereth, and Shannon Spake)
Radio: 94.1 WIP
Stream: NFL Game Pass

 

By Matt Szczypiorski | September 18, 2021
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