Sunday’s game between the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles doesn’t lack for star power.
The 49ers-Eagles matchup features multiple All-Pro players on both sides of the ball, and each one will play a key role in determining which team eventually wins this regular-season battle for NFC supremacy.
With so many great players flying all over the field, which ones require the most attention? To answer that question, one thing to keep in mind is the weather.
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It’s expected to be wet and sloppy at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, placing an extra premium on ball security. The team best able to adapt to the rainy conditions could be the one that walks off the field with a victory.
While there are no wrong choices, here’s at least one list of 10 players – five from each team — who should be spotlighted.
1. Brock Purdy, 49ers QB
For 49ers-Eagles, you have to start with the quarterbacks. And in Purdy’s case, he returns to the field where he injured his throwing elbow only eight minutes into the NFC Championship Game, when Eagles linebacker Haason Reddick hit his arm as he was attempting to throw a pass.
Purdy needed offseason surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament, but he returned in time for the start of training camp. Since then, other than a three-game blip in which he threw five interceptions in three losses, the second-year pro has put together an MVP-caliber season.
What would have happened if Purdy hadn’t gotten hurt in January? Would that have made a difference? We’ll never know if Purdy could have led them to a Super Bowl, but on Sunday, we’ll hopefully get to see a full game with Purdy leading the 49ers offense.
2. Jalen Hurts, Eagles QB
After last week’s come-from-behind win over Buffalo, Hurts further solidified himself as the favorite in the MVP race. Forget that he is the 12th-rated passer. The stat that matters most is the team’s winning percentage, and Hurts — for better or worse — had guided the Eagles to the league’s best record at 10-1.
While Hurts has rallied Philadelphia in the second half in each of the past four weeks, it might be too much to ask him to do the same thing against the 49ers. Against the Bills, Hurts went 4-for-11 passing for 33 yards and an interception in the first half before going off in the second half and overtime period.
Hurts has turned ball over 13 times this season — with 10 interceptions and three lost fumbles — while the 49ers lead the league in interceptions (15) and are second overall in takeaways (22). With wet conditions Sunday, Hurts will need to play a complete, mistake-free game for the Eagles to come out on top.
3. Lane Johnson, Eagles RT
Johnson, a four-time Pro Bowl tackle, missed last week’s game against Buffalo with a groin injury. But he’ll be back for Sunday’s matchup — just in time to to face one of his biggest challenges of the season: 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa.
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Bosa will line up over Johnson, who is rated among the best one-on-one offensive tackles in the NFL. But with a tender groin, will Johnson be able to hold off the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, who has five sacks over his past three games? The Johnson-Bosa battle could be the matchup of the game.
4. Deebo Samuel, 49ers WR
If the Eagles are game-planning to remove one weapon from the 49ers offense, the focus will be on Christian McCaffrey. And if that’s the case, there will be openings for other 49ers weapons to do some damage. That’s where Samuel comes in.
Samuel is among the league’s most explosive players. Even if Deebo hasn’t come close to matching his output from 2021, that doesn’t make him any less dangerous with the ball in his hands, whether he’s coming out of the backfield or he’s split wide. Kyle Shanahan is smart about finding opening spaces for players like Samuel. And if the Eagles successfully take away McCaffrey, Shanahan will unleash Deebo. Expect that to happen Sunday.
Also helping Deebo’s placement on this list is his trash-talking, literally speaking. And he’s already made it clear that he’s not about to retract his words about Eagles cornerback James Bradberry, calling him “trash.”
5. Haason Reddick, Eagles LB
Reddick is another player who rates high on this list not only for his impact on the game, but also for his chippiness this week.
On the field Reddick is a menace off the edge, with 8.5 sacks. He’ll be matched against 49ers right tackle Colton McKivitz, who isn’t quite as good as the guy on the left side of the 49ers line, Trent Williams.
And as mentioned earlier, Reddick knocked Purdy out of the game last year, leading to the Eagles’ dominant 31-7. There’s no doubt he’ll be trying to do the same thing again Sunday.
6. Fred Warner, 49ers LB
If you watch enough 49ers games, you can’t miss Warner. The All-Pro inside linebacker makes plays all over the field, whether he’s stuffing a run or dropping back in coverage and making a play downfield.
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Given Hurts’ propensity to escape the pocket and make plays with his feet, Warner will be tasked with monitoring Hurts’ activity out of the backfield. Warner has tremendous closing speed for a linebacker, and it will be important for to make sure Hurts doesn’t take advantage of any gaps in the 49ers’ defense.
7. Jalen Carter, Eagles DT
When defensive tackle Javon Hargrave signed with the 49ers in the offseason, the Eagles needed another game-wrecker inside, and they found one in Carter, whom they selected with the ninth overall pick in the NFL draft.
Carter, at 6-foot-3, 314 pounds, is nearly impossible to block at times, and he could have his way with the interior of the 49ers offensive line. He’s a big reason why the Eagles have one of the best run defenses in the league, and he is capable of collapsing the pocket in front of Brock Purdy at any given time.
8. Jake Moody, 49ers K
The 49ers rookie kicker, a third-round pick out of Michigan, has been fairly consistent all season. He’s made every PAT kick, and he’s hit 17-of-20 field goal tries.
But two of his three misses came in a 19-17 loss to Cleveland, including a 41-yarder that would have won the game, but it was wide right.
That game was played in rainy conditions, as Sunday’s game is likely to be. The game could come down to Moody’s right leg in the final seconds. The question is, will he be able to knock it through?
9. A.J. Brown, Eagles WR
Brown has been the Eagles’ big-play receiver all season. While former Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith gives Philadelphia game-changing ability from the outside as well, Brown is fourth in the league in receiving yards and has seven touchdowns.
Typically, the way to beat the 49ers is through the air; the 49ers are 12th against the pass. Brown, who’s surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in four of his five seasons, has torched the 49ers’ secondary in the past. As a member of the Tennessee Titans in 2021, he caught 11 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown.
If the 49ers are able to neutralize the running game, Brown will get his opportunities to hurt the 49ers downfield, where San Francisco has rookie Ji’Ayir Brown playing safety in place of All-Pro Talanoa Hufanga, who’s out for the season.
10. Christian McCaffrey, 49ers RB
You can’t have a list of the top 10 players to watch in the 49ers-Eagles game without McCaffrey, the 49ers’ do-everything back. He might be the best player on the field Sunday, and as mentioned earlier, he’s the one player the Eagles will look to stop.
McCaffrey is not only the NFL’s leading rusher, but also the leader in touchdowns with 16. Given the NFL record for consecutive games with a TD that he tied earlier in the season, McCaffrey is good for nearly one touchdown per game.
Shanahan will do everything he can to spread the ball around to his other weapons (Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle, etc.), all in an effort to give McCaffrey some space to run. But regardless of everyone else the 49ers will throw at them, the Eagles know their path to victory starts with McCaffrey and keeping him out of the end zone.