49ers vs. Eagles: Three must-know storylines for Sunday's playoff game

Sunday afternoon's bout at Lincoln Financial Field will feature two seasoned playoff opponents. Either the Eagles or 49ers have represented the NFC in the Super Bowl in each of the last three seasons (Eagles in 2024 and 2022; Niners in 2023).

The wild-card bout marks the playoff rematch of the 2022 NFC Championship Game. Hopefully, Brock Purdy can stay healthy for more than one series this time. On that day, the Niners QB tore his UCL on the first drive of the game, and the Eagles steamrolled to a 31-7 win. That game feels eons ago.

Sunday, both Philly and San Francisco enter with a host of questions.

Kyle Shanahan's club is a MASH unit, particularly on defense, after losing stars Nick Bosa, Fred Warner and many others, sapping the unit of its potency. Offensively, Trent Williams is dealing with a hamstring injury, and receiver Ricky Pearsall has been dealing with a PCL issue for the bulk of the season.

The Eagles have injury concerns of their own, most significantly along the offensive line, but the main question for the reigning Super Bowl champs is whether Nick Sirianni's offense can finally hit a groove heading into the postseason tournament after frustrating inconsistencies have plagued the unit all campaign. Does the offense have enough to beat good teams? The Eagles went 2-3 and averaged 19.4 points per game against teams with a .600+ win percentage in 2025. Against teams under .600, they went 9-3 and averaged 23.5 PPG.

The Eagles are 5-0 at home in the playoffs under Sirianni, 0-2 on the road and 1-1 in Super Bowls (neutral site). The 49ers have reached the NFC Championship Game in each season they have made the playoffs under Shanahan, and San Francisco is 6-0 in Wild Card/Divisional Round games since 2019.

Three must-know storylines

1) Can the Eagles offense take advantage of a banged-up 49ers D?

The Eagles have scored 22.3 points per game in 2025 (19th in the NFL and the fewest in the Nick Sirianni era) and averaged 311.2 total yards per game (24th in the league and the third-fewest of any playoff team).

Given the names on the Eagles offense, the numbers are mind-numbing. An offense with Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith shouldn't be so easily slowed. Offensive line issues have been a major factor in the spiral, as the Eagles fell from the top unit last season. With Lane Johnson set to return and others getting rest last week, the hope is that Philly's blocking will improve during the playoff run.

The unimaginative offense run by Kevin Patullo has earned the ire of Philly fans. It's been particularly predictable in the passing attack, which averaged 194.3 pass yards per game, good for 23rd in the NFL and the second-fewest among playoff teams (Carolina, 179.3).

Inefficiencies on early downs and predictable passing routes led the Eagles offense to a league-high 28.1% three-and-out rate in 2025.

Hurts hasn't been the quarterback who steamrolled through the playoffs last year, with a trove of missed passes peppering his season. However, his ability to protect the football has been key to the Eagles' success in close games. Philly is 11-2 when Hurts doesn't have an interception this season (0-3 in games with one or more).

Fortunately for the Eagles, they'll face a Niners defense that struggles to get after the quarterback, ranking last in the NFL with 20 sacks and creating just six interceptions, tied for the second-fewest. San Francisco is the first team to make the playoffs in a season with 20 or fewer sacks and fewer than 10 INTs.

The 49ers' inability to disrupt the passer has left their secondary vulnerable. Since Week 5, San Francisco has allowed 358.6 yards per game, seventh-most in the NFL, and 253.2 passing yards per game, third-most. In the first four weeks of the season, the Niners allowed 280.5 yards per game and 165 pass yards per tilt.

Can Robert Saleh's zombie crew keep the Eagles offense spiraling, or will Hurts & Co. get back on track to jumpstart their postseason run?

2) High-powered 49ers offense vs. Eagles' menacing D

Upon Brock Purdy's return in Week 11, the Niners offense was a buzzsaw, averaging 35.7 points per game from Weeks 11-17, before getting waylaid by the top-seeded Seahawks in Week 18 sans all-world left tackle Trent Williams. Purdy ranks third in total TDs (19) and passer rating (105.6) since his return.

With the starter under center, the Niners offense is a blitzkrieg, able to dice up defenses with play-action over the middle and on intermediate routes. Using a diverse set of playmakers, from Christian McCaffrey out of the backfield to Jauan Jennings, Kendrick Bourne and Ricky Pearsall (when healthy), San Francisco's passing attack is lethal when it gets rolling. The 49ers went 23 consecutive drives without punting at one point down the stretch.

The key matchup Sunday will be tight end George Kittle against a stingy Eagles D. Purdy has a 140.6 passer rating when targeting the TE this season, tops of any duo with at least 40 connections. Seemingly, whenever Purdy gets into trouble or needs a big play, he looks for Kittle. That combination will be tested Sunday against an Eagles defense that has allowed the lowest passer rating on targets to tight ends this season (72.2).

Vic Fangio's defense has played at a championship level this season and has been particularly menacing since acquiring Jaelan Phillips at the trade deadline. Since Week 10, the Eagles have allowed 15.6 points per game, the fewest in the NFL.

It's a D with little weakness. Phillips and Jalen Carter can disrupt the passer, Zack Baun patrols the middle and corners Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean are smothering. Mitchell has allowed a 41.7 completion percentage in coverage in 2025, tied for first in the NFL. DeJean, meanwhile, allowed just a 48.8 completion percentage defending the slot, the lowest in the league with a minimum of 30 slot targets. Philly has generated at least one takeaway in nine straight games and allowed a single passing TD over the past four tilts.

If there is one area to quibble with Fangio's unit, it's that the defense has been run on at times this season, allowing 124.4 rush yards per game, 22nd in the NFL. Will a Niners run game that hasn't been very efficient this season, ranking 24th with 106.9 yards per contest, be able to exploit that tender spot in an otherwise impenetrable dragon?

3) Which running back will blast off?

Saturday will mark the fourth playoff matchup all time between the previous two AP Offensive Player of the Year winners: Saquon Barkley won in 2024, Christian McCaffrey in 2023.

McCaffrey has been the 49ers' workhorse, leading the NFL with 413 touches this season, 44 more than any other player (Jonathan Taylor, 369). Returning from last season's injury, McCaffrey generated 1,202 rushing yards on 311 totes. The concern for the Niners' rushing attack has been consistency. McCaffrey generated just 3.9 yards per carry, the lowest in his career since his rookie campaign (3.7). The splash runs have been few and far between, with CMC earning just 11 rushes of 15-plus yards and three over 20 yards.

The best all-purpose weapon in football is a matchup nightmare. His 924 receiving yards on 102 catches gave McCaffrey 2,126 scrimmage yards this season, second in the NFL (Bijan Robinson, 2,298). CMC generated 12 games with 100-plus scrimmage yards, tied for the most in the NFL (James Cook), and 10 games with 100-plus scrimmage yards and at least one touchdown (most in the NFL). Philly allowed 639 receiving yards to running backs, seventh-most in the NFL, so expect Brock Purdy to look for CMC often on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Barkley, coming off a 2,005-yard 2024 season, didn't earn a Pro Bowl nod as the Eagles offense was stuck in the mud. The dynamo generated 1,140 rushing yards on 280 carries (4.1 YPC) with seven touchdowns. The big difference this season is that the massive runs have been absent from the offense. In 2024, Barkley earned 17 rushes of 20-plus yards and a whopping seven of 40-plus. In 2025, he had just four rushes of 20-plus yards and three going 40 or more yards. Part of the lack of explosives has been play-calling, and another is blocking concerns, with linemen not getting to the second level as regularly as they were a year ago.

Like many backs who lead the league in carries, as Barkley did a year ago with 345, things started slowly. From Weeks 1-13, the RB averaged 61.7 rushing yards per game, 3.7 yards per carry on 16.5 totes per tilt. However, he's found a groove in recent weeks. Over his past four games, Barkley has averaged 100.0 yards on 20.5 carries per game for a 4.9 yards per carry average. With Lane Johnson and others along the Eagles' line hopefully healthier, we could see a return of 2024 Barkley in the 2025 playoffs.

49ers' Wild Card Weekend injury report

Eagles' Wild Card Weekend injury report