Eagles News: Why Brock Purdy could struggle in Philadelphia

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Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles news and links …

NFL Wild-Card Weekend Betting Notebook – PFF
I think there’s a decent chance that the San Francisco offense struggles against a defense of Philadelphia’s caliber. Brock Purdy has played only four defenses in the top half of the NFL in EPA per play allowed (Seahawks twice, Jaguars and Browns). He has a 74.0 PFF passing grade, 6.8 yards per attempt, five touchdowns and five interceptions in those four games, compared to a 91.7 PFF passing grade, 8.3 yards per attempt, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions in the other five games against lesser defenses. San Francisco’s offense is still capable of success, but I think the Eagles’ defense has a talent advantage. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has fared well against 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan (granted, prior matchups were pre-2018).

49ers vs. Eagles: DVOA Preview – FTN Fantasy
While they got off to a slow start, Philadelphia’s defense has a DVOA of -14.6% since Week 7, fourth in the league. And, apart from their potential issues with CMC, they match up very well with what San Francisco does good on offense. George Kittle‘s an all-world tight end, but the Eagles are first by a mile defending tight ends with -51.9% DVOA. They struggle to contain WR2s, but the 49ers don’t have a WR2 to worry about – Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, arguably the best cornerback duo in football, can team up to shut down all of San Francisco’s relevant wideouts and tight ends, and there’s only so much damage Adoree’ Jackson or Kelee Ringo can do against the likes of Kendrick Bourne or Skyy Moore Shanahan’s an expert at scheming guys into open space, but Philly’s not going to falter there – since midseason, they’ve allowed just 35% of their targets to players charted as “open” or “wide open,” best in the league. The midseason addition of Jaelan Phillips has boosted their pass rush; they rank fourth since Week 10 with a 34.1% pressure rate and seventh in adjusted sack rate despite having the fifth-lowest blitz rate. Getting pressure with four, not having coverage lapses against top wideouts or tight ends – that’s the recipe for shutting down San Francisco’s offense, and Fangio has his guys rolling ever since midseason. We could very well see a repeat of what Seattle did to San Francisco last week.

2025 NFL wild-card betting: Odds, picks for 49ers-Eagles – ESPN
Brock Purdy UNDER 1.5 passing TDs (-170). Maldonado: The Eagles allow the lowest passing touchdown rate in the league. Vic Fangio’s defenses squeeze red zone windows, forcing long drives and field goals. Purdy can move the ball, but finishing through the air against this coverage profile won’t be easy.

Eagles-49ers Final Injury Report: Lane Johnson questionable – BGN
The Eagles ruled three players QUESTIONABLE: Lane Johnson, Brett Toth, and Azeez Ojulari. Johnson was limited for all three practices this week. The team probably would’ve liked to see him get at least one full session in. Lane might start at right tackle anyway but it doesn’t seem like a lock at the moment. The expectation is that’ll try to play at less than 100%. If he can’t go or has to leave the game early, it’ll be Fred Johnson in his place once again.

5 Questions with Bleeding Green Nation: Will Fangio get the better of Shanahan? – Niners Nation
The 49ers are clear underdogs for their wild-card matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles, despite a hugely impressive 12-win season. San Francisco has not played a playoff game against Philadelphia since the 2022 season, when an injury to Brock Purdy ended their hopes in the NFC Championship Game. Much has changed since that defeat, and the 49ers got a measure of revenge with a blowout win in Philadelphia in the subsequent season en route to the Super Bowl. But, as the 49ers aim to upset the odds and make amends for that disappointment at Lincoln Financial Field, I checked in with Brandon Lee Gowton of Bleeding Green Nation to get the Eagles’ perspective on Sunday’s matchup.

NFL Playoffs head coach rankings for 2026, from No. 1 to No. 14 – SB Nation
No. 10: Nick Sirianni — Philadelphia Eagles It feels wrong to have a Super Bowl winning coach this low, but there’s plenty of criticism to go around when it comes to Nick Sirianni. Far too often he’s overly emotional, which clouds the needed logic to win football games — and there’s a very high degree of “fairweather coaching” to his ethos. When the Eagles are thriving, he’s on Cloud 9, but when things fall apart there’s a tendency to play the blame game and check out.

Roob’s Observations: Will the Eagles finally let Jalen Hurts take off and run? – NBCSP
DeVonta Smith has been quite a postseason weapon for the Eagles over the years, with two 100-yard games, 169 yards in the two Super Bowls and a 13.8 per-catch average. His 595 postseason receiving yards in nine posteason games is already an Eagles postseason record and 8th-most ever by a player in his first four seasons. The only other Eagles with multiple 100-yard postseason receiving games are Fred Barnett and Keith Jackson, with two each. Smith has always been a very good regular-season player, but the truly elite are the ones who raise their level in the postseason, and Smith has routinely done that.

2025-2026 NFL playoff predictions – PhillyVoice
In the Divisional Round, the Seahawks earned the 1 seed only to have to face the Rams in their first playoff game. I see that ending in a loss. The Eagles played one of their worst games of the season against the Bears Week 13, but I like their chances of avenging that loss in Chicago in the Divisional Round. In the NFC Conference Championship Game, the Rams finally get the best of the Eagles, after two close losses in Philly Week 3 this season and in last year’s Divisional Round.

Tommy Update – Iggles Blitz
It is January and the Eagles are in the playoffs, with a legitimate shot to challenge for back-to-back Super Bowls. So why the heck is IgglesBlitz not getting updated with stories? I was diagnosed with colon cancer last Saturday. Yeah, that sentence was as tough to type as it was for you to read. The good news is that the doctors (and there are so, so many doctors) think we have a good plan for how to handle this. We’re not all gloom and doom. This isn’t a 3rd & 26 draw play to Will Shipley. [BLG Note: On behalf of BGN, we’re all rooting for Tommy.]

NFL playoff picks: Score predictions and matchup analysis for every Wild Card Round game – NFL.com
Why Tom picked the Eagles: Gennaro nailed it; this one is tough. In the end, I had to make a decision between what I want and what I think is right, which is really the dilemma at the heart of this cursed exercise every week. I wanted to pick the 49ers for a number of reasons, including Brock Purdy’s renewed swagger, Kyle Shanahan’s coaching acumen and, ultimately, because I just like them more. As far as defending champs go, the Eagles have been, let’s say, unconvincing. They’ve notched some recent solid wins against competitive teams, like low-scoring squeakers over the Bills (13-12 in Week 17), Lions (16-9 in Week 11) and Packers (10-7 in Week 10), and they’ve handled themselves against also-rans like the Commanders and Raiders, but there is exactly one victory over a fellow playoff contender in which they broke the 20-point mark: that wild 33-26 win over the Rams back in Week 3, which was, don’t forget, padded out by a freak return TD from a 336-pound nose tackle. Over the last nine games of the regular season, Philly ranked 22nd in the NFL in EPA per play on offense — that’s Panthers/Cardinals territory, folks. And much worse than the 49ers’ extremely appealing placement of third in the span, with Purdy returning from injury in Week 11. I don’t have much faith in the Eagles’ ability to move the ball, especially compared to the significantly livelier operation coming to town.

Eagles-49ers preview: Kyle Shanahan-Vic Fangio matchup, Niners vs. Saquon Barkley – The Athletic
Tafur: 49ers fans love going back to the Purdy money, and whether or not he is really worth $245 million. Many — not to mention San Mateo native and famous broadcaster/owner Tom Brady — were calling for the Niners to stick with Mac Jones after he won five games for an injured Purdy. Purdy obviously came back and won six straight games, scoring 10 touchdowns over a two-game span. This is a high-stakes game for Purdy, who has to outplay Hurts for the 49ers to win Sunday. Part of that will be leaning on McCaffrey (30 touches?) and taking advantage of his great chemistry with Kittle, despite the Eagles’ success covering tight ends. Getting back Williams (likely) and Ricky Pearsall would be a huge help. The 49ers’ defensive woes are well-documented. They don’t rush the quarterback well, miss tackles and they’re down to their fourth starting middle linebacker. Even when it is at its worst, though, the defense has shown a penchant for making a key third-down or red-zone stop, and they have a lot of confidence in coordinator Robert Saleh to find them an edge. Rookie cornerback Upton Stout is coming off his best game (which is saying something) and could make a name for himself Sunday. San Francisco has a lot of belief in themselves, and the team chemistry is off the charts, all of which leads to giving the Eagles a real scare. However, the health and talent disparities are just too much to overcome. Eagles 27, 49ers 24.

Eagles’ ‘bounty hunter’ was rejected two years ago. Now, he’s key to another Super Bowl run – NJ.com
But Fangio has rebounded with the Eagles, whom he joined a year later, helping them win their second Super Bowl last February behind the league’s best defense. And although Fangio has evolved, he has always been demanding at his core. “I can’t think of many coordinators like him,” said Brendon Ayanbadejo, a former Ravens linebacker who played under Fangio and still speaks with him regularly. “Every handful of years, he’s been around (a new team), right? It’s a blessing and curse. He’s a bounty hunter for hire. Just brings you instant defense.” With Philadelphia’s offense ranking near the bottom in nearly every category this season, the defense will need to carry them in the playoffs.

2025 Eagles Hype Video | Wild Card Round – PE.com
Repeats are earned The Hard Way.

Cowboys fans grade head coach Brian Schottenheimer’s first season in charge – Blogging The Boys
The Cowboys had plenty of problems, but what about at head coach? How much was first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer at fault for what happened? Well, if you listen to the fans, Schottenheimer was not a reason. In fact, in our poll of the Cowboys fanbase, a majority rated his performance as either an ‘A’ (9%) or a ‘B’ (53%). That’s a pretty decent endorsement for the head coach.

The Washington Commanders are hiring David Blough as their new OC – Hogs Haven
The Washington Commanders have quickly moved on from former offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, reportedly hiring current assistant QB coach David Blough as his replacement. He was one of three known candidates to interview for the job, and he’s now getting a big promotion in a critical season for the franchise. Blough already had an interview request from the Lions for their recently opened OC job. Head coach Dan Quinn made several coaching staff changes after a disappointing 5-12 season. Kingsbury and the team “mutually agreed to part ways” after reported conflicts over offensive philosophy and player usage. Defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr and offensive line coach Bobby Johnson were also fired. Former QB coach Tavita Pritchard left during the season to become Stanford’s head coach, giving Blough more responsibilities at the end of the year.

John Harbaugh to the NY Giants? ‘I think both parties really want each other’ – Big Blue View
If things go according to plan, the New York Giants will be introducing John Harbaugh as their newest head coach by the end of next week. That is the belief of one prominent New York sports columnist. “I think both parties really want each other, and I don’t see a reason why it wouldn’t work out,” Ian O’Connor, columnist for The Athletic, said on the ‘Valentine’s Views’ podcast. “If you said I have to put down 20 bucks on a candidate today, absolutely, John Harbaugh will be the head coach of the Giants by the end of next week. That’s what I believe.“ Nothing, of course, is guaranteed. Every team with an opening for a head coach would like to talk to Harbaugh. A couple of teams ousted this weekend in the Wild-Card round of the playoffs could also enter the mix.

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