Niners Nation
It’s finally gameday. The San Francisco 49ers are taking on the Philadelphia Eagles in the wildcard round of the playoffs, with kickoff slated for 1:30 p.m. at Lincoln Financial Field.
The 49ers are coming off a loss to the Seattle Seahawks, missing out on their chance for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, and instead will have to travel on the road for their playoff push. Should they win, they would get a rematch with the Seahawks in the divisional round next weekend.
How can they pull off the victory? Let’s look at three keys to win for the 49ers over the Eagles on Sunday.
Committing to the run game
I alluded to it earlier this week, but the 49ers have to commit to the run game if they want to win on Sunday. The Eagles are fairly well-rounded. They have a good pass defense and a quality pass rush, potentially giving them the advantage over a 49ers passing game that may not have Ricky Pearsall on Sunday.
But Philadelphia has been susceptible to the run this year. They rank 22nd in the NFL, allowing 124.4 rushing yards per game. And while they’re middle of the pack in yards allowed per carry (4.3), teams have also looked to run the ball on Philly at a high rate (27th in the NFL with 29.1 rushing attempts allowed per game).
The 49ers have to run the ball at least 30 times. Against the Seahawks, the 49ers were not able to run the ball at all on early downs, even with Seattle playing its nickel package the entire game, as San Francisco missed Trent Williams up front. To run the ball at a high volume, you need success on early downs.
In Philadelphia’s six losses, they gave up 130, 172, 125, 281, 169, and 143 rushing yards, averaging out to 170 yards a game. In their 11 wins, they allowed less than 100 rushing yards a game. So the 49ers’ efforts in the run game will be a big difference maker on Sunday.
Missed tackles
It goes without saying, but the 49ers can’t afford another missed tackle fest like they had last weekend against Seattle, especially from their linebackers. Perhaps the lack of rest played into that effort, but when the defense is already struggling in other areas, San Francisco can’t have over 20 missed tackles in a game.
Philadelphia’s run game hasn’t been as efficient this year, but they’re physical and capable of producing a good game in the playoffs. San Francisco needs to swarm to the ball on Sunday, but also wrap up well to limit gains on the ground. That’s their best chance of winning the game, because the defense doesn’t have an advantage anywhere on the field.
It will be tough because the 49ers are down players at linebacker with Tatum Bethune out for the year, and both Dee Winters and Luke Gifford are questionable for Sunday. But they need to defend the run well enough, and that...
