Niners Nation
Going head-to-head with positions doesn’t make much sense, since Brock Purdy isn’t going to be on the field at the same time as Jalen Hurts. Could you imagine how Purdy would look with A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith? It would be all hypothetical.
So we’ll preview the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles based on the units that will face each other.
One quarterback will be tasked with elevating the talent in a difficult matchup, while the other has one of the more favorable matchups this weekend.
That’s not to make excuses for Purdy. Drake Maye has elevated his receivers all season with his play. That’s why he’s in the MVP conversations. Can Purdy do the same on the road?
It was tough sledding against Seattle in Week 18 for the 49ers on the perimeter. Separation was hard to come by, and the lack of precision and speed for the wideouts against a top-tier secondary was on full display.
Ricky Pearsall has yet to practice this week. He ran on the side of the field on Thursday. It goes without saying that the 49ers can’t afford to miss their first-round pick from a year ago.
Adoree Jackson ran a 4.42 40-yard dash. Cooper Dejean ran a 4.42 at 203 pounds. Quinyon Mitchell ran a 4.33. The Eagles’ cornerbacks can flat out run. No team in the NFL runs man coverage at a higher rate than Vic Fangio, which was close to 42 percent.
Mitchell has more passes broken up than receptions allowed since Week 10. He’s one of the three best cornerbacks in the NFL. When you have a shutdown cornerback, it makes life easier on everybody else.
Purdy completed 61.7 percent of his passes this season against man coverage, with an adjusted net yards per attempt of 7.09, good for 18th in the NFL. Purdy has a cheat code in George Kittle, who ranks near the top of the league in yards per route run against man coverage at 3.20. Pearsall is at 3.0, which is an elite number.
The issue is that Jauan Jennings, Demarcus Robinson, and Kendrick Bourne all rank outside of the top 200 in that same metric. The 49ers have to make the Eagles pay for starting Jackson. Shanahan will target him. It’s just a matter of whether the wideouts can win.
Despite running as much man coverage as they do, the Eagles allow the lowest passer rating when running man coverage in the league at 75.2, and the fourth-lowest yards per attempt. Shanahan will scheme up a couple of man beaters, but after last week, it’s tough to have faith in the 49ers outside of the numbers.
Advantage: Eagles secondary
Kittle should have no fewer than 10 targets in this game. The same applies to Christian McCaffrey if Pearsall cannot play. Don’t waste time targeting the Eagles’ strength. Instead, rely on what you do well....
