Eagles

Eagles

via free use @allproreels

Lucas Quick, Staff Writer

The Eagles held the throne with the best NFL record for the first 15 weeks of the regular season. But when QB Jalen Hurts injured his shoulder, the team was forced to start Gardner Minshew instead for two weeks. With a new QB under their helm, the Eagles lost two of their last three games and barely got the #1 seed, proving to be more difficult than expected. Prior to the divisional game against the surging Giants, there was a bit of uncertainty on how the Eagles would perform with Jalen Hurts reportedly not at 100 percent, as well as OT Lane Johnson playing through a groin injury. Any concerns were answered very quickly, however, when the Eagles handed the Giants a 38-7 blowout win. Hosting the Niners at the Linc will be their biggest challenge yet, but the job the Eagles need to do to win the game shouldn’t be too difficult. The Eagle’s main task is to win both the offensive and defensive line battles. The immediate difference seen when teams perform against Philly’s o-line and d-line is drastic. Take the Giants game for instance; their offense was surgical in their Wild Card match against the Vikings, but their performance was the complete opposite in their divisional game, and Daniel Jones struggled to perform due to the Eagle’s superb defensive line and secondary. 

The 49ers frontline is one of the most resilient ones in the league, and they will match up against a resilient Eagles offensive line. This is the best matchup for the game, a true test on both sides. Nick Bosa is looking to put himself back into the mix, as he hasn’t recorded a sack in a couple games, but he will have to face both Jordan Mailata, and Lane Johnson who hasn’t allowed a sack in over 800 days.