Eagles vs. 49ers predictions: Our writers pick a winner for the wild-card round
The Eagles haven't lost a playoff home game since the 2019 wild-card round against the Seahawks. Can they keep the good times rolling at the Linc?
The playoffs commence for the Eagles this Sunday, hot on the heels of a 2025 regular season that saw a generally dominant defense fuel an NFC East title run despite a shaky offensive attack.
The 49ers, who missed on a chance to secure the NFC’s No. 1 seed in a home loss to Seattle last Saturday, limp to Lincoln Financial Field as the Eagles’ wild-card round opponent.
Will the Birds run their home playoff winning streak to six games with a victory? Our writers make their predictions:
No, the Eagles didn’t get the No. 2 seed and missed out on a chance to play a compromised Packers team, but as far as NFC matchups go, this one is pretty favorable for them.
The 49ers don’t have the same menacing defense that they used to. And while their offense has at times been among the best in the NFL, the injury bug has bitten them at the worst time. Maybe left tackle Trent Williams ends up playing, but even if he does, he obviously won’t be at 100% after missing last week and the start of this practice week with a hamstring injury.
The Eagles, meanwhile, could get their star tackle, Lane Johnson, back. And they’re getting linebacker Nakobe Dean back, too. Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle still offer a big challenge for the Eagles’ defense, but McCaffrey had his worst game of the season in Week 18 and touched the ball more than any other skill position player this season. Tired legs or a really good Seattle defense? I think it was both. And the Eagles have the defensive front — a healthier one with Jalen Carter back — and the linebackers to defend the 49ers at a high level.
It hasn’t been an encouraging season from the Eagles’ offense, to put it mildly, but the 49ers are down multiple linebackers and don’t have an abundance of talent in the secondary. If the Eagles don’t beat themselves, which you can’t rule out, they should be able to establish a running game that gets the offense back on track.
Prediction: Eagles 24, 49ers 20
Whether the Eagles can win this game will hinge on the defense’s ability to dominate, just as it has all season.
History is on defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s side. He boasts a 3-1 head-to-head record against Kyle Shanahan as head coaches or coordinators. Shanahan’s offenses haven’t scored a meaningful touchdown in those four games.
The 49ers offense could get a boost if Williams and wide receiver Ricky Pearsall play. But the primary focus of the Eagles defense ought to be slowing down McCaffrey, who ranks second in the NFL in all-purpose yards (not including return yardage). That’s a tough task, but not an impossible one for a defense that has excelled against the run in all but two games this season.
Brock Purdy has the ability to extend plays and scramble, but the Eagles have been better against mobile quarterbacks in recent weeks, especially since last month’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
In theory, the Eagles offense should be able to take advantage of a banged-up 49ers defense and the game shouldn’t come down to Fangio. But expectations ought to be low for an Eagles offense whose starters were shut out for an entire half the last time they faced a playoff-bound team in the Buffalo Bills.
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Maybe the Eagles can finish what the Seahawks started last week and continue to punish the 49ers on the ground. Maybe Jalen Hurts and the passing attack can exploit the 49ers’ thin inside linebacker corps with passes over the middle of the field. Neither have been characteristic of the offense this season, though.
Or, maybe, the defense will stifle Shanahan’s offense while Nick Sirianni, Kevin Patullo, and the Eagles offense do just enough to get by. It wouldn’t be the first time.
Prediction: Eagles 24, 49ers 20
How do you beat the 49ers? Do what Seattle did: run the football and pressure Purdy. The Eagles should be able to do that as the 49ers lost yet another linebacker this week and could again be without Williams at left tackle.
Yes, the Birds would much rather be playing Sunday against the Packers but perhaps last week’s rest is what the offensive line needed to perform the way it did last postseason. Saquon Barkley averaged 147.3 yards last season in the NFC playoffs so the focus on Hurts seems a bit much. For the Eagles to repeat, they’ll need to run the ball better and Barkley has just two 100-yard games since Halloween. Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet — Seattle’s two-headed rushing attack — combined for 171 yards last week vs. the 49ers, who allowed opponents to run for 110 yards or more in four of their final five regular-season games.
McCaffrey has been electric as always but most of his success this season has come on short passes. The Eagles could take that away if they get to Purdy the way Seattle did as the Seahawks applied constant pressure en route to three sacks and eight QB hits. Jalyx Hunt and Jaelan Phillips could change this game. Pearsall, who has been slowed by a knee injury all season, could also be out, giving Purdy one fewer option to pair with McCaffrey and Kittle. The Niners had a great finish to the season before their dud against the Seahawks, but they just seem too banged up to hang with the Eagles.
Prediction: Eagles 24, 49ers 13