3 issues that could lead to a catastrophe with the 49ers in the NFC Championship

The Philadelphia Eagles NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers is the game the majority of fans have been wanting. The Eagles and his 49ers have been by far the most impressive in the conference this season. The Eagles saw him start 13–1, but earlier than usual home he secured his advantage on the field.

The 49ers, on the other hand, are the hottest team in the NFL. They won the final 10 games of the regular season before defeating the Seattle Seahawks and the Dallas Cowboys, extending their winning streak to 12 games. continued to impress throughout the stretch, winning all seven starts.

According to FanDuel, the Eagles will play in front of their home crowd. The atmosphere is certainly exciting as Philadelphia is looking to return to the Super Bowl just a few years after winning its first title in 2018 against Tom Brady and New England’s Patriots.

But this game is by no means easy. Here are his three issues that could spell disaster for the Eagles against the 49ers in the NFC Championship.

3. Myles Sanders, Eagles can’t run football effectively

The Philadelphia Eagles are one of the hottest football teams in the NFL this year. They finished fifth in the regular ranks in rushing, averaging over 147 yards per game on the ground. Clearly, part of that was due to the success QB Jalen Hurts had out of his pocket.

But it was Miles Saunders who provided consistent production from the Eagles’ backfield. He rushed for a career-high 1,269 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. This ranked him fifth and eighth overall in the league respectively.

Despite a glorious season, there was a noticeable trend in the Eagles’ losses. Sanders struggled to do much on the ground each game. In a Week 10 loss to the Washington Commanders, Sanders rushed for just 54 yards on 12 carries. The following week, he recorded his season-lowest 47 yards in a miraculous comeback win against the underperforming Indianapolis Colts.

The two remaining losses saw Saunders record 126 rushing yards combined. As a result, Hurts were pressured to be more pocket passers.

No one is denying that Hearts’ appearance this year is truly amazing. He’s become one of the league’s best playmakers and this year he’s an MVP candidate. But we’ve also seen similar stories about Lamar Jackson. When the Eagles run football effectively, he could find AJ Brown and Devonta Smith on play-action passes. However, when Hurts is asked to make consistently accurate throws against good defense from the pocket, he has yet to prove he can do it.

Philadelphia needs to establish some kind of running game against the 49ers.

2. The Philadelphia Eagles turn the ball over

The Eagles started the season 8-0. It’s no coincidence that they were overwhelmed by the disparity in turnover. He only turned the ball over three times in that span. But halfway through the season, things changed, and most people didn’t realize it. i am not one of those people.

In the second half of the season, Philadelphia turned the ball over 15 times and were ranked in the bottom third of the league. That matched all three of their losses, and could easily have had a couple more.

The 49ers’ defense is perhaps the only match in the league between Phillies players and players. There is an All-Pro at each level. Tarano Ahufanga is one of the best safety he’s ever had in all of the NFL. Fred Warner could be the best linebacker in the league, and Nick Bosa is likely to win the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award.

The Eagles have to do a better job defending football. San Francisco has yet to lose a game this season when it wins turnover. If Philadelphia handles the ball carelessly on Sunday, it could be costly.

3. 49ers acquire Christian McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell

Last week we saw him become a game manager for the first time in his Brock Purdy era. In his first six games in the NFL, he not only managed games, but improved his offense. Purdy is agile, precise and intelligent. But the Cowboys’ defense gave him a lot of trouble last week.

The Eagles are looking to do the same with the NFC Championship. If they can limit the 49ers ground game, it will be a lot easier. If they can hold off Christian McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell, the play-action-pass game is far less likely to succeed.

The Eagles have enough secondary to cover Deebo Samuel and Brandon Ayuk. But if they’re forced to pay attention to what’s going on in the backfield, it can cause serious problems. . They need Purdy to beat them.

If they do it and don’t turn the ball over, they win this game.