The Eagles are entering the playoffs relatively healthy, while the 49ers have a few key injuries

One team had a meaningful game with a lot on the line and everything in its control. The other had a meaningful game with a lot on the line and only some things in its control.

The Eagles, the latter team, went the conservative route and rested most of their regulars. The San Francisco 49ers, meanwhile, played a big game in prime time Saturday and lost at least one starter for the playoffs in the process.

Of course, had the Eagles been in a situation in which a win guaranteed them the No. 2 seed in the NFC, Nick Sirianni likely would have made a different decision for Week 18 vs. Washington.

As it happens, the decision may have cost the Eagles a chance at a second home playoff game, but what it did guarantee was them entering wild-card weekend with the healthiest roster they could have. It was an extra week for right tackle Lane Johnson and linebacker Nakobe Dean to continue working toward their returns from foot and hamstring injuries, respectively. It was a day off for defensive tackle Jalen Carter to give his ailing shoulders a break. Edge rusher Jaelan Phillips got to rest his ankle injury. Tight end Dallas Goedert got to stay off his knee.

The 49ers, meanwhile, lost linebacker Tatum Bethune to what coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters was a season-ending groin injury during their Saturday night loss to Seattle. San Francisco remains without star linebacker Fred Warner (ankle), who has been out since Week 6 and is unlikely to be ready until at least the NFC championship game. Bethune started in Warner’s stead. Two other linebackers, Dee Winters (ankle) and Luke Gifford (quadriceps), will be evaluated this week for their injuries, Shanahan told reporters on Monday. Winters has played 92% of the 49ers’ defensive snaps this season.

The Eagles could be facing a hodgepodge of linebackers on Sunday (4:30 p.m., Fox29).

» READ MORE: Nick Sirianni did the smart thing by resting his starters. Now the Eagles have to show he was right.

San Francisco also was without star left tackle Trent Williams for its game Saturday. Williams is dealing with a hamstring injury, and the 49ers struggled offensively without him, although the Seahawks have one of the best defenses in the NFL. San Francisco was held to 173 yards and managed just nine first downs vs. the Seahawks, while 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was sacked three times. Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall practiced in a limited fashion last week but was ruled out for the game with knee and ankle injuries.

Johnson, the Eagles’ star tackle, seems to be trending toward returning for the postseason. Dean’s status remains unclear, but his Week 16 injury was not expected to be long-term. “Good news is, I don’t think it’s too serious and I don’t think we’re done seeing him for this season,” Vic Fangio said on Dec. 23. The Eagles could end up starting their postseason run with all of their active-roster regulars ready for action. (Rookie safety Drew Mukuba is on injured reserve.)

“I think it’s always a fine line of there’s two things that need to happen,” Sirianni said Monday. “[You’ve] got to have your players available, and you do different things to make sure that happens throughout the year, but it is so important that you continue to get better as the season goes on.

“Our guys know how to practice. They know how to practice efficiently. So we’ve had a tendency of getting better while also having guys healthy.”

» READ MORE: Eagles react to facing the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs: ‘It’s going to be good on good’

Resting the regulars meant Tank Bigsby got the start at running back with Saquon Barkley on the sideline.

Bigsby has flashed in his limited role as a backup, and he showed Sunday why some are clamoring for more of him.

Bigsby rushed 16 times for 75 yards and a touchdown. He also turned a check-down completion into a 31-yard gain, making Washington’s Jordan Magee miss with a nifty cut in the process. Bigsby, however, played just two snaps in the fourth quarter and did not have a touch after the third quarter during the 24-17 loss.

“He runs hard,” Sirianni said. “He’s got extremely good ability to make you miss while also being able to put his shoulder down and finish runs through contact.

“The way he walks through, the way he practices, it really does show up in the game with how hard he runs and how hard he plays.”

Perhaps the Eagles will feature more of him, especially if they find success on the ground vs. a weakened San Francisco front seven.

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The Eagles have a solid stash of draft picks (8) and, for a team just one season removed from winning the Super Bowl, a lot of positions that need to be addressed. Several elite members of the offensive line could be on the verge of retirement, while the wide receiver corps appears destined to lose a dynamic member. After bolstering the defense in the early rounds of the draft in recent years, will general manager Howie Roseman pivot this spring? The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and Devin Jackson combine their reporting and analysis to forecast how the Eagles might attack the 2026 NFL Draft, which gets underway Thursday in Pittsburgh. Listen here.

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