In the end, the Eagles offense couldn’t rise to the occasion, a shortcoming it had all season long.
With under a minute remaining in the wild-card round Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, Jalen Hurts was tasked with driving down the field and leading a touchdown drive to erase the Eagles’ 23-19 deficit. Upon reaching the 49ers’ 20-yard line, Hurts was sacked and threw three straight incompletions, ending the Eagles’ aspirations of repeating as Super Bowl champions.
There were three lead changes in the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. The 49ers managed to pull off the win without injured inside linebacker Fred Warner, defensive end Nick Bosa, and tight end George Kittle, who suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the second quarter.
Here’s our instant analysis from the Eagles’ loss to the 49ers:
Nick Sirianni’s first home playoff loss was a story of missed opportunities.
Tale of two halves, again
The Eagles offense followed an all-too-familiar script — it came out strong in the first half, only to disappear at times in the second.
In the first half, Kevin Patullo and Nick Sirianni opted to run early and often to great success. On the second play of the Eagles’ opening drive, Saquon Barkley took a handoff from Hurts in the shotgun, bounced to his right, and scampered upfield for a gain of 29 yards. His run helped set up the Eagles’ first touchdown of the day, a 1-yard run by Dallas Goedert to make it 7-6, 49ers, after a missed Jake Elliott point-after.
Barkley finished the first quarter with nine carries for 48 yards (5.3 yards per carry).
Barkley had an up-and-down showing in the passing game. First, the good. In the second quarter, Hurts had an unblocked defender in his face on second-and-6 from midfield, and dumped the ball off to Barkley, who turned a routine checkdown into a 20-yard gain.
His play eventually led to Goedert’s second touchdown of the game, a 9-yard catch that made it 13-7, Eagles.
Then, the not-so-good. On third-and-3 from the Eagles’ 37-yard line early in the third quarter, Barkley dropped a pass in the open field, causing the Eagles to go three-and-out for a second straight possession.
His woes continued in the second half. After averaging 4.7 yards per carry (71 yards on 15 carries) in the first, Barkley went for 0.8 yards per carry (six carries for 5 yards) in the third quarter.
Patullo and Sirianni seemed to lean conservative in their play calls in the third quarter as they clung to their 13-10 lead. Three plays after Quinyon Mitchell’s first interception of the night in the third quarter, Barkley was stuffed for a loss of a yard by 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir on a second-and-18 zone run.
The Eagles lost nine yards on the four-play drive and punted. On the following possession, still up by three, the Eagles settled for a 41-yard field goal. They had seemingly waved the white flag on third-and-13 with a Hurts 4-yard keeper, appearing content to take the points. However, Sirianni pushed back on the notion that he had grown conservative in the second half.
“I think that’s always the go-to [perception] if it [doesn’t] go the way you want,” Sirianni said. “If it goes the way you want it to go in the first half and then not the second half, I think that’s the go-to of people [thinking] you take your foot off the gas, but we were playing more balanced, got the run game going a little bit, trying to mix our play actions in, trying to get our passes in to create explosives. At the end of the day, we didn’t create enough explosives.”
Barkley was slightly more effective in the fourth quarter, and was able to return after being hobbled by a leg injury after a hard hit that caused him to miss snaps. But at that point, the Eagles were often in catch-up mode due to the 49ers scoring a pair of touchdowns.
Rare drops plagued A.J. Brown. The 28-year-old receiver had three receptions on seven targets for 25 yards. On the Eagles’ final possession, he dropped a third-down pass over the middle of the field, only to be bailed out by Goedert’s conversion on the ensuing fourth down. With the season on the line, Goedert was targeted later in the drive on fourth-and-11 from the 49ers’ 21, but linebacker Eric Kendricks broke up Hurts’ pass.
As a passer, Hurts went 20-for-35 (57.1%) for 168 yards and one touchdown. While the Eagles won the turnover battle, they didn’t win the explosive play battle. Hurts’ longest pass went for 20 yards and Barkley’s longest run was 29, marking the Eagles’ only plays of 20-plus yards.
“I take ownership for not being able to put points on the board,” Hurts said postgame. “It all starts with me and ends with me. And so there’s a sense of a lot there that you can learn from. I think as a team, as a collective group and personally for me as a quarterback, how you see the game, how you feel the game, and ultimately just, ‘OK, how can I find a way to win?’ We weren’t able to do that today.”
Quinyon Mitchell logged two interceptions in a losing effort for the Eagles.
Mitchell’s two picks for naught
Quinyon Mitchell, named to his first All-Pro team on Saturday, stepped up in the second half in an attempt to reinvigorate the Eagles offense.
The 24-year-old cornerback contributed a pair of interceptions, keeping the surging 49ers offense off the field and giving Hurts & Co. an opportunity to put points on the board.
However, the Eagles only mustered a field goal off his picks. On his first interception in the third quarter, Mitchell undercut an erratic play-action pass intended for Skyy Moore, giving the Eagles offense prime field position at their own 48.
They punted after four plays, one of which was a Cam Jurgens holding call on second-and-10.
One series after the 49ers took a 17-16 lead on a fourth-quarter trick play — a 29-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Jauan Jennings to Christian McCaffrey — Mitchell struck again. Again, he undercut Brock Purdy’s pass, this time intended for 49ers tight end Jake Tonges.
The Eagles began the series at their own 38 and managed to move the ball 32 yards on eight plays. But the wind proved problematic in the passing game. Late in the drive, a deep pass intended for Jahan Dotson in the end zone died in the wind, eventually leading the Eagles to settle for a field goal. Elliott made the 33-yard attempt, putting the Eagles up, 19-17, with eight minutes remaining.
Ultimately, Mitchell’s interceptions proved to be missed opportunities for the Eagles offense.
The Eagles defense made some big plays but also had key miscues and allowed Christian McCaffery to get into the end zone twice.
Mistakes haunt Eagles
A litany of mistakes crippled the Eagles on both sides of the ball. The Eagles lacked detail, one of Sirianni’s core values, reflected by their seven penalties for 48 yards. The 49ers, conversely, were flagged once for 15 yards.
The Eagles’ mistakes led to 49ers points. Late in the fourth quarter, the Eagles up 19-17, Reed Blankenship was flagged for holding Tonges on second-and-6 just outside the red zone. His transgression wiped away a Jalen Carter sack and gave the 49ers a fresh set of downs at the 20.
The 49ers took advantage of his mistake, as Purdy connected with McCaffrey on a 4-yard touchdown pass to regain the lead, 23-19.
“I should have never held him,” Blankenship said. “I thought I was pretty late. But at the end of the day, I’ve just got to be better doing that and be better doing my job.”
The defense also had breakdowns in coverage. Wide receiver Demarcus Robinson’s 61-yard reception against Mitchell on the second play of the game brought the 49ers into the red zone. Robinson caught a 2-yard play-action pass for a touchdown, also against Mitchell, putting the 49ers up, 7-0.
In the second quarter, Jennings had a 45-yard reception while aligned in the slot, slipping past Cooper DeJean to make the grab. His big play eventually led to points, too, in the form of a 36-yard field goal.
Elliott’s missed extra point was also costly. Had he made it, the Eagles could have played to tie the game with a field goal on their final possession.
An Eagles fan watches as the players leave the field after losing to the 49ers.
With less than a minute remaining in Sunday’s game, fans crowded together in McGillin’s Olde Ale House with the Eagles down 23-19 and their back-to-back Super Bowl aspirations on the line. As a way to motivate one another and keep their hopes alive, fans in the bar began to erupt into Eagles chants.
Unfortunately, Jalen Hurts was sacked and threw three straight incompletions to end their playoff run early.
Brandon Lasalata was just one fan in attendance to watch the Birds night end in a loss. The 24-year-old made the drive from Richmond, Virginia to watch Sunday’s wild-card matchup surrounded by Eagles fans. However, it wasn’t the ending he expected.
“I don’t know what happened,” Lasalata said. “We need to get rid of Kevin Patullo. I think that hopefully next year we’ll be a better playoff contender. We should have gotten through this round. I don’t know what happened. I’m very upset.”
On the other side of the room, 27-year-old Lancaster native Dominic Polidoro sat with his head hanging low in defeat.
“I feel pretty deflated,” Polidoro said. “I feel like this team was probably the most talented team in the league. It’s really disappointing to see them fall short, especially scoring less than 20 points in this game. The offense has so many talented players and the defense is even more talented. So, it’s really disappointing to see them fall short this early in the playoffs. We had higher hopes. We thought this team was good enough to go to the Super Bowl and win.”
In terms of what’s next for the Birds, Polidoro has a few ideas in mind.
“Fire both [Nick] Sirianni and Patullo,” Polidoro said. “I like Sirianni but I think a more strategic offense might be more complimentary for the team.”
Eagles season ends on failed comeback attempt against 49ers
Offensive tackle Fred Johnson sits on the bench after the Eagles’ loss to the 49ers.
In the end, the Eagles offense couldn’t rise to occasion, a shortcoming it had all season long.
With under a minute remaining in the wild-card round against the San Francisco 49ers, Jalen Hurts was tasked with driving down the field and scoring a touchdown to erase the Eagles’ 23-19 deficit. Upon reaching the 49ers’ 20-yard line, Hurts was sacked and threw three straight incompletions, ending the Eagles’ aspirations of a repeat Super Bowl championship.
There were three lead changes in the fourth quarter. The 49ers managed to pull off the win, without inside linebacker Fred Warner, defensive end Nick Bosa, and tight end George Kittle, who tore his Achilles in the second quarter.
NFL playoffs: What we know about the divisional round schedule
So much for the Eagles facing off against the Chicago Bears.
With all the NFC wild-card games now finished, here’s what we know about the playoff matchups we’ll see in the divisional round next weekend:
NFC:
No. 1 Seahawks vs. No. 6 49ers
No. 2 Bears vs. No. 5 Rams
AFC:
With just one game played, things are a bit more fluid in the AFC.
All we know is the No. 1 seed Denver Broncos will either face the No. 6 Buffalo Bills, who won Sunday, or the No. 7 Los Angeles Chargers if they upset the No. 2 New England Patriots tonight.
If the Patriots win, the Bills will face the Broncos and New England will host the winner of Monday night’s wild-card matchup between the No. 4 Pittsburgh Steelers and No. 5 Houston Texans.
A 10-play, 66-yard 49ers drive ends with a Brock Purdy pass to Christian McCaffrey on third-and-goal from the 4-yard line. The Eagles pressured Purdy, but the quarterback was able to get the ball out and into the hands of his best player to give San Francisco the lead.
The Eagles are on the brink of elimination with 2 minutes, 54 seconds to go. They trail 23-19 and need a touchdown to win. Their offense has 65 yards in the second half.
Quinyon Mitchell celebrates an interception during the third quarter.
The Eagles are clinging to a 16-10 lead as the third quarter ends, but San Francisco will begin the fourth quarter with a first down on the Eagles’ 29-yard line.
The Eagles’ offense has stalled a bit. Jake Elliott just extended the lead by three points with a 41-yard field goal, but the Eagles punted on their three previous drives.
Execution has been an issue, too. Saquon Barkley dropped a pass in the flat for a first down. Cam Jurgens was also called for a holding penalty on a Jalen Hurts run that would have resulted in a first down.
We'll see if those conservative calls on second and third down come back to haunt the #Eagles. But their defense is playing outstanding, and Nick Sirianni seems to expect them to maintain that level to finish.
Jake Elliott 41-yard FG expands lead over 49ers to 16-10.
Saquon Barkley has 15 carries for 71 yards in the first half
The Eagles lead the San Francisco 49ers, 13-10, at halftime.
A lot happened.
The Eagles’ running game got rolling. Saquon Barkley has 15 carries for 71 yards. Tank Bigsby ran three times for another 20.
Jalen Hurts is 11-for-16 for 93 yards and a touchdown.
Kevin Patullo’s red-zone magic with tight end Dallas Goedert continued. Goedert ran for a touchdown and caught another.
Jake Elliott missed an extra point as his season from hell rolls on.
The 49ers lost George Kittle to an Achilles injury. They got just 13 yards on eight carries from Christian McCaffrey.
Oh, and Nick Sirianni and A.J. Brown got into it on the sidelines.
The Eagles’ defense needs to cut down on big plays, but Vic Fangio’s unit is in a pretty good spot. The running game should be able to control the second half. But the Eagles are probably regretting not getting points out of that last drive and building on their lead.
The Eagles receive the kickoff to start the second half.
After halftime, Sirianni told Fox’s Erin Andrews things are fine between him and his star receiver.
“Emotions, they run high, especially in the playoffs,” Sirianni said, according to Andrews. “Of course, after this game, we’ll go back to loving each other. But look, this is just the way it is. We’re just fine, thanks.”
“I just don’t think you can expect everyone to be super balanced and chill,” Brady said. “You’re a warrior, you’re a gladiator down on the field. Emotions are running high every single play.”
Fox NFL analyst and Hall of Famer Michael Strahan had a different perspective on the exchange.
“I don’t understand why Sirianni is running down there yelling at one of his star players,” Strahan said at halftime. “I don’t think that brings out the best in your player… In my opinion as a player, I wouldn’t have taken very well from my coach on the sideline.”
Eagles take the lead after refs pickup flag on Birds
Dallas Goedert’s second touchdown catch of the game was nearly called back after officials initially called Cam Jergens with a penalty for being downfield.
After a brief discussion, officials picked up the flag. Fox NFL rules alalyst Dean Blandino explained why it was a good decision.
“If you’re an offensive lineman, if there’s a pass you can’t be downfield when the pass is thrown,” Blandino said. “Jurgens was downfield, but the exception — if you’re blocking within a yard, you can drive that defender five, six, ten yards downfield.”
Haven't see much of Quinyon Mitchell getting beat this season, but the 49ers went at the All pro CB on their first pass that went 61 yards and on a 2-yard TD pass. 49ers jump down the #Eagles on their opening drive, 7-0.
A strong cold front is forecast to incite winds perhaps gusting 40 mph during the Eagles-49ers playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field.
The winds evidently won’t be taking sides: The stadium’s orientation is more or less north-south, and the winds will be blowing from the west and then “swirling around in the Linc,” said Matt Benz, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc.
In any event, they won’t be much help to the quarterbacks or the kickers — San Francisco’s Eddy Piñeiro or Elliott, whose 74.1% field goal percentage this season was the second-lowest of his nine-year career. Piñeiro hit on 28 of 29 attempts.
Temperatures at kickoff are in the the mid-40s and are expected to drop into the upper 30s during the game. Steady winds of 20 mph may drive wind chills into the upper 20s.
Josh Allen and the Bills defeated the Jaguars earlier Sunday.
Here’s an updated look at the NFL 2025 playoff schedule and results (so far).
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Full 2025 NFL playoff schedule
Wild-card round: Saturday, Jan. 10, to Monday, Jan. 12
Divisional round: Saturday, Jan. 17, to Sunday, Jan. 18
Watch Gameday Central: Live Eagles-49ers pregame show
// Timestamp 01/11/26 4:11pm
Bills advance past Jaguars in AFC wild-card opener
Josh Allen and the Bills are moving on in the playoffs.
The first AFC playoff game picked up right where the NFC left off Saturday night: with a thrilling finish.
In a back-and-forth affair that included four fourth-quarter lead changes, the Bills edged out the Jaguars, 27-24, thanks to a go-ahead Tush Push touchdown from Josh Allen with a minute left in the game.
If the Patriots beat the Chargers Sunday night, the Bills will travel to Denver next week for the divisional round as the conference’s lowest remaining seed.
If the Chargers pull off the upset, the Bills will face the winner of Monday night’s game between the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers.
The 49ers, meanwhile, will be missing wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, and perhaps more crucially, will be without a pair of linebackers in Dee Winters and Luke Gifford. They lost another linebacker, Tatum Bethune, last week. On the flip side, they will be getting back left tackle Trent Williams, who missed the regular-season finale with a hamstring injury.
Ricky Pearsall and Dee Winters are inactive for today's game.
Johnson was officially listed as questionable following practice on Friday after participating in all three practices this week in a limited fashion.
Johnson suffered a Lisfranc injury in his foot in the Eagles’ Week 11 win over the Detroit Lions. This week was his first week back on the practice field, but he was not yet fully ready to return to game action.
With Johnson out, Fred Johnson figures to continue starting at right tackle.
Cameron Williams just walked on the field with his game pants on, which would indicate that he will be one of the three OL reserves active today in addition to Matt Pryor and Drew Kendall. https://t.co/FDpRLaNqh2
This Eagles fan walks a ‘helmet dog’ to get ready for games
Walking through C Lot, you may find Eagles fans playing cornhole, grilling their favorite meats, or throwing a football around as they prepare for today’s game. Or you may see a man wearing a beak on his head as he drags a 49ers helmet on a leash through the parking lot.
That’s 64-year-old David Schofield, also known as “Beak.” He has been “walking the dog” for 21 years.
“The rescues, we just like to bring them out here in the sun and get them some exercise,” Schofield said of his “helmet dog.”
Schofield has made this into a pregame ritual, and owns a helmet for each NFL team.
“It started with a road trip in Buffalo when we took a helmet home to smash,” Schofield said. “But, it was a good helmet so it didn’t smash too easily. So, I ended up putting it on a dog leash. Hence the birth of the helmet dog.”
Darius Slay tailgates with Eagles fans as Bills open playoffs
Jennifer Slay (left) and former Eagles cornerback Darius Slay Jr. (center) attend a tailgate before the Eagles play the 49ers at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday.
Darius Slay may no longer be part of the Eagles — but that’s not stopping him and his wife Jennifer Slay from supporting his former team.
The former Birds cornerback posed for photos with fans at the 4th and Jawn tailgate ahead of the Eagles’ wild-card matchup with the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. Standing beside his wife, he looked at the crowd of Birds fans and smiled as they yelled out “Big Play Slay” and erupted in Eagles chants.
Darius Slay may no longer be part of the Eagles — but that’s not stopping him and his wife Jennifer Slay from supporting his former team. pic.twitter.com/XsSPgLKuRp
Although Slay was released last offseason before signing with the Steelers, he still means a lot to the city of Philadelphia after spending five seasons here, capped off by a Super Bowl victory in February.
“Darius Slay means everything,” said 30-year-old Chris Mallee. “He’s kind of a blue collar guy like all the people coming to the games. He’s someone that keeps his head down and works really hard, family oriented, he’s a really solid guy. We definitely miss him here but we’re glad he’s doing well.”
How do fans feel about Darius Slay making an appearance at the Eagles tailgates pic.twitter.com/G2Akdi8KOQ
Slay was released by the Steelers last month, and subsequently claimed by the Buffalo Bills. However, he informed the Bills he was considering retirement and wouldn’t report to the team. At the same time Slay was hanging with Eagles fans Sunday, the Bills were in Jacksonville for a playoff game of their own. They currently lead the Jaguars, 10-7, late in the first half.
How confident are Eagles fans heading into the playoffs?
// Timestamp 01/11/26 1:32pm
Eagles all over: Fans fly in from Texas for first game at the Linc
Steven Booth, 30, and Brandon Casas, 26, flew in from El Paso, Texas, on Friday night to watch the Eagles compete against the San Francisco 49ers in their wild-card matchup at Lincoln Financial Field.
Booth has been an Eagles fan since 2005, when he was a kid and the Birds played the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX. Sunday’s game will be the first game he’s attending at the Linc.
“We’re looking forward to seeing the [Eagles] fan base,” Booth said. “How crazy it gets in there in a playoff environment. And of course a [win].”
The two teams previously met twice in 2023, first in January in the NFC championship, a dominant win for the Eagles. They met again during the 2023 regular season, when it was the 49ers turn to dominate the Birds in a 42-19 win to avenge the postseason loss. Booth sees Sunday’s game as a chance for the Eagles to take back their loss in their last contest.
Remember Eagles Court? It was a Birds-Niners game that started it all.
A stadium security member escorts two fans out of the Vet after they urinated on the wall in the 700 Level in 2002.
On Nov. 10, 1997, Jimmy DeLeon, a municipal court judge, was watching from home when a blowout loss to the 49ers on Monday Night Football became more about what was happening in the stands. There were over 20 fights, a gang of fans broke a man’s ankle, two folks ran onto the Vet turf, and a New Jersey man was arrested after firing a flare across the stadium.
The concrete and steel fortress at Broad and Pattison had long been a haven for rough and rowdy football fans. There was the time the fans stole the headdress from the Washington fan who dressed like a Native American. And the whistling Cowboys fan who was chased out of the 700 Level.
“It was a nightmare,” said Bill Brady, a retired traffic cop who spent game days patrolling the 700 Level. “Fights galore. People passed out in the bathroom. One of the security guys up there used to box in the Blue Horizon. It was nothing but aggravation. You’d have roll call in the police room and go up to the 700 Level. By the end of the day, you were beat up.”
But this Monday night game against the 49ers was too much. The flare gun — the man said he saw people firing them in the parking lot and then brought one into the Vet — became national news as Philadelphia’s unruly stadium was now portrayed as a war zone.
DeLeon called Judge Seamus McCaffery as the two volunteered as judges in the city’s nuisance night courts, a program in which people who committed “quality of life crimes” such as loitering, underage drinking, and curfew violations would be brought immediately to a judge and receive a fine. DeLeon told McCaffery that they had to do something about the Vet.
“He was right on it,” DeLeon said. “He took it over.”
McCaffery was soon in a meeting with Jim Kenney — the future mayor who was then on City Council — along with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and president Joe Banner.
The night nuisance court was Kenney’s idea, and he thought it could work at the Vet. Arrested fans could be charged immediately, plead guilty, and be issued a fine by a judge.
Too often, an arrested fan would fail to show up to a court date and nothing more would happen. The city didn’t spend the resources to chase down fans from the 700 Level. McCaffery said it was a fine idea, but the stadium didn’t have a courtroom.
“Without missing a beat, Jeff Lurie said, ‘We’ll build you a courtroom here,’” McCaffery said.
Thus began the legend of Eagles Court.
“The hardest part sometimes was keeping a straight face,” added McCaffrey, who oversaw the court until the team moved to the Linc in 2003.
In wide-open NFL playoffs, it’s hard to count out the Eagles
Jalen Hurts and Dallas Goedert begin their Super Bowl defense in earnest on Sunday.
The Rams were a double-digit favorite and still needed last-minute heroics to win on the road against 8-9 Carolina. The Bears advanced past Green Bay after a fourth-quarter comeback that seemed impossible, and will probably be a home underdog once again vs. their divisional round opponent.
Wild-card Saturday was certainly wild, but it underscored a major storyline of this season’s NFL playoffs: It’s wide open.
After what was a pretty whacky regular season — the offense took a step back under a first-year coordinator; A.J. Brown fired off a few cryptic social media posts; Lane Johnson and Jalen Carter were hurt; Brandon Graham came out of retirement — the Eagles are firmly in the mix, and it’s hard to rule them out of making a Super Bowl run.
They will take the field later this afternoon as a six-point favorite (up from 3.5 points to open the week) against a 49ers team that is banged up and may be running out of gas. A win would send the Eagles to Chicago next week, and while they lost a brutal Black Friday game to the Bears in Week 13, they will most likely be favored to advance next weekend at Soldier Field.
Their reward could conceivably be a home NFC title game vs. the Rams, or a trip to Seattle for a matchup between two of the best defenses in the NFL. Seattle winning would require Sam Darnold to at least do enough to win against a healthy Vic Fangio defense. The Eagles may not be favorites in that game, but they’d be a live ‘dog.
FanDuel as of Sunday morning has the Eagles at +750 to win the Super Bowl. The Seahawks (+380) and Rams (+380) have shorter odds as far as NFC teams go, but they’re already in the second round. NFC title odds look like this: Seahawks +175; Rams +200; Eagles +380. Then there’s the Bears at +550 and the 49ers at +1900.
The Eagles have talent and experience on their side, despite whatever schematic advantages they may theoretically no longer have with their offense. Besides Jalen Hurts, only Matthew Stafford and Aaron Rodgers have Super Bowl wins among the 12 teams that remained in the playoffs as of Sunday morning.
Hurts’ efforts to try to get back to another start Sunday, and the path started taking shape on a wild Saturday of football that made it easier to imagine the Eagles getting to the final weekend. And easier to see their season ending in disappointment on Sunday. It’s been that kind of season, and it’s that kind of playoff bracket.
Tom Brady seen here speaking to Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, is back in the booth to call Birds-49ers Sunday.
Eagles fans will hear a familiar voice — and a former foe — calling Sunday’s wild-card game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady, Fox’s No. 1 crew, will be in the booth at the Linc to call all of Sunday’s action. Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi will report from the sidelines.
It will be the duo’s seventh Eagles game this season, and while Birds fans have strong opinions about Brady, Burkhardt has unquestionably been a rabbit’s foot.
The Eagles are 12-5 in games Burkhardt has called (including playoffs) since he replaced Joe Buck as the Fox’s top NFL voice in 2022, when he was initially paired with Greg Olsen. That seems appropriate for the North Jersey native who grew up rooting for the Eagles despite living in Giants country.
You can also mute the TV and tune into 94.1 WIP, where Merrill Reese will be calling his 28th Eagles playoff run (and 18th alongside longtime partner and former Eagles receiver Mike Quick). The NFL’s longest-tenured announcer, Reese, 83, has said he has no intention of hanging up his headset once his 48th season comes to a close.
Eagles-49ers TV and radio details
When: Sunday, Jan. 11
Where: Lincoln Financial Field
Time: 4:30 p.m. kickoff
TV: Fox 29 (Kevin Burkhardt, Tom Brady, Erin Andrews, Tom Rinaldi)
Radio: 94.1 WIP (Merrill Reese, Mike Quick, Devan Kaney)
Spanish radio: Tico (Rickie Ricardo, Oscar Budejen, David Gerhardt)
National radio: Westwood One (Ian Eagles, Ross Tucker
The Eagles would face Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears if they defeat the 49ers Sunday.
If the No. 3 seed Eagles manage to defeat the No. 6 San Francisco 49ers Sunday, they’ll travel to Chicago to take on the No. 2 Bears in the divisional round of the playoffs next weekend.
The No. 1 Seattle Seahawks will take on the lowest-remaining seed, the No. 5 Los Angeles Rams, who eked by the No. 4 Carolina Panthers, 34-31, Saturday afternoon. That would leave the Eagles facing the Bears, who defeated the Birds 24-15 earlier this season. If the 49ers win, they would travel to Seattle and the Bears would host the Rams.
The Seahawks have entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed three previous times (2014, 2013, and 2005), and each time have advanced to the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, the Eagles are looking to become the first No. 3 seed in the NFC to make it to the Super Bowl since Washington did it in 1987.
The NFL is expected to announce the full divisional round playoff schedule Sunday night during NBC’s broadcast of the AFC’s No. 7 seed Los Angeles Chargers vs. No. 2 New England Patriots.
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and and Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts will face off Sunday at the Linc.
When it comes to our writers, it’s a consensus: the Eagles will advance to the divisional round. Here’s a look at how they see it playing out:
Jeff McLane: “There’s a push when it comes to the Eagles’ underperforming offense vs. the 49ers’ subpar defense; but I give the edge to a great Eagles defense over a very good, but not great 49ers offense.” | Eagles 23, Niners 17.
Jeff Neiburg: “It hasn’t been an encouraging season from the Eagles’ offense, to put it mildly, but the 49ers are down multiple linebackers and don’t have an abundance of talent in the secondary. If the Eagles don’t beat themselves, which you can’t rule out, they should be able to establish a running game that gets the offense back on track.” | Eagles 24, Niners 20.
Olivia Reiner: “Maybe the Eagles can finish what the Seahawks started last week and continue to punish the 49ers on the ground. Maybe Jalen Hurts and the passing attack can exploit the 49ers’ thin inside linebacker corps with passes over the middle of the field. Neither have been characteristic of the offense this season, though. Or, maybe, the defense will stifle Shanahan’s offense while Nick Sirianni, Kevin Patullo, and the Eagles offense do just enough to get by. It wouldn’t be the first time.” | Eagles 24, Niners 20.
Matt Breen: “The Niners had a great finish to the season before their dud against the Seahawks, but they just seem too banged up to hang with the Eagles.” | Eagles 24, Niners 13.
Eagles injury report: ‘Some concern’ Lane Johnson could miss game
Offensive tackle Lane Johnson could return to the field Sunday.
The Eagles have listed Lane Johnson, who suffered a Lisfranc foot injury in Week 11, as questionable to play in Sunday’s wild-card game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Johnson, the 35-year-old right tackle, was a limited participant in all three practices this week. He hadn’t practiced since mid-November, as he missed the last seven games of the regular season after his injury against the Detroit Lions.
On Saturday, Fox’s Jay Glazer reported that Johnson was dealing with some soreness and swelling in his injured foot and will be a game-time decision. That report that was confirmed by NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport.
“There is some concern he could miss this game,” Garafolo said Saturday. “He was limited in practice all week, he looked good in spurts, but that’s a tough injury, it’s a painful injury. I would say that this is a legitimate game-time decision. We’re going to watch this [Sunday], so we’ll have an update for you on Sunday.”
In addition to Johnson, the Eagles listed Brett Toth (concussion) and Azeez Ojulari (hamstring; injured reserve) as questionable to play against the 49ers. Toth was a limited participant in Friday’s practice after sitting out on Wednesday and Thursday.
Everyone else on the Eagles’ active roster is available to play, including Grant Calcaterra (ankle), Jalen Carter (hip), Nakobe Dean (hamstring), Landon Dickerson (rest), Marcus Epps (concussion), Dallas Goedert (knee), and Jaelan Phillips (ankle).
Dean, the 25-year-old inside linebacker, is set to suit up for his first game in three weeks. He was sidelined for the final two games of the season with a hamstring injury he suffered in Week 16 against the Washington Commanders.
Dean revealed his intention to play against the 49ers earlier in the week. Dean last appeared in the postseason last season in the wild-card round win over the Green Bay Packers, when he tore the patellar tendon in his knee.
49ers injury report: San Francisco could be without several starters
49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams is questionable for Sunday’s game.
The San Francisco 49ers are listing five starters as questionable, including left tackle Trent Williams (hamstring), wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (knee/ankle), inside linebacker Dee Winters (ankle), outside linebacker Luke Gifford (quadricep), and cornerback Renardo Green (foot).
Williams, the three-time All-Pro tackle, was a limited participant in practice all week. Pearsall did not practice, but head coach Kyle Shanahan said Friday he could still play. Green had not been listed on the injury report going into Friday’s practice.
Depth players defensive lineman Keion White (groin/hamstring) and Jacob Cowing (hamstring; injured reserve)are also questionable to play.
The playoffs are finally here. The Eagles officially kick off their quest to repeat as Super Bowl champions on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field against the San Francisco 49ers.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of their wild-card matchup.
How to watch Eagles vs. Niners
Eagles vs. Niners will kick off on Fox at 4:30 p.m. ET. Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady will call the game from the booth, and Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi will be on the sidelines.
If you’d rather listen to Merrill Reese and Mike Quick call the game, the radio broadcast can be found on 94.1 WIP, and if you’re not heading to the Linc, but want to watch the game with your fellow Birds fans, here are a few spots to check out.
There will be six games played over the next three days. Here’s the full playoff schedule for the wild-card round …
NFC
(4) Rams vs. (5) Panthers | Saturday, 4:30 p.m., Fox
(7) Packers vs. (2) Bears | Saturday, 8 p.m., Prime Video
(6) Niners vs. (3) Eagles | Sunday, 4:30 p.m., Fox
Bye: (1) Seahawks
AFC
(6) Bills vs. (3) Jaguars | Sunday, 1 p.m., CBS
(7) Chargers vs. (2) Patriots | Sunday, 8:15 p.m., NBC
(5) Texans vs. (4) Steelers | Monday, 8:15 p.m., ESPN
Bye: (1) Broncos
Who could the Eagles face in the divisional round?
First, the Birds need to take care of business on Sunday, but if they do, they could face one of three potential remaining NFC teams: the Los Angeles Rams, the Carolina Panthers, or the Chicago Bears. They could not, however, face the Seattle Seahawks or Green Bay Packers.
The lowest advancing seed will play the top-seeded Seahawks in Seattle. And because the Panthers and Rams — the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds, respectively — play one another, a team with a lower seed than the Eagles is guaranteed to advance. The Packers (or Niners, if they beat the Eagles) could also be in that spot.
If the Packers beat the Bears, Green Bay would be the lowest remaining seed and would face Seattle. The Eagles would then play the winner of the Panthers-Ram game, and would get to host that team in the divisional round. However, if the Bears win, the Eagles would travel to Chicago for the divisional round, with the Panthers-Rams winner heading to Seattle.
Because the Eagles-Niners game is the final NFC wild-card matchup, the winner won’t have to wait to find out its opponent.
The Eagles could get offensive tackle Lane Johnson, left, back for Sunday’s wild-card game.
Final injury report
It sounds like the Eagles won’t know until Sunday whether or not right tackle Lane Johnson, who has been out since Week 11 with a Lisfranc (foot) injury, will make his return to the offensive line. Johnson, interior lineman Brett Toth (concussion), and outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari (hamstring) are all listed as questionable for the Birds’ wild-card game. Ojulari was the only of the three who practiced fully on Friday. Johnson and Toth were limited all week.
On the flip side, the Eagles will be getting several banged-up players back in time for the playoffs. Defensive tackle Jalen Carter (hip), linebacker Nakobe Dean (hamstring), edge rusher Jaelan Phillips (ankle), tight end Dallas Goedert (knee), and safety Marcus Epps (concussion) were all full participants in Friday’s practice and are expected to play.
Meanwhile the 49ers have quite a few injuries, including to several starters. Veteran tackle Trent Williams, linebackers Dee Winters and Luke Gifford — after the team put LB Tatum Bethune on IR earlier this week — and cornerback Renardo Green are among those listed on the injury report for Sunday’s game. The following players are all questionable:
WR Jacob Cowing (hamstring)
LB Luke Gifford (quadricep)
CB Renardo Green (ankle)
WR Ricky Pearsall (knee, ankle)
DL Keion White (groin, hamstring)
T Trent Williams (hamstring)
LB Dee Winters (ankle)
Eagles-Niners odds
The Birds are a 5.5-point favorite at DraftKings and a 4.5-point favorite at FanDuel as of Friday afternoon. The over/under on both sites is set at 44.5.
As for the Super Bowl, the Seahawks are the betting favorite to win it all. At FanDuel, the Eagles have the fourth-best odds, at +800, behind Seattle, the Rams, and the Broncos. At DraftKings, the Eagles have the fifth-best odds, at +950, also behind the Patriots.
Kevin Patullo is in his first year as the Eagles offensive coordinator.
Storylines to watch
What is the state of the Eagles’ offense? With Johnson potentially set to make his first start since Nov. 16 against the Detroit Lions, the banged-up offensive line could get a big boost.
In the starting offense’s final game of the year in Buffalo, they played one of their best first halves and worst second halves of the year. Which version will show up at the Linc on Sunday? And what will that mean for the future of offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo?
More storylines to watch:
Saquon Barkley is extra excited for this weekend’s showdown with Niners running back Christian McCaffrey, whom he calls “one of the best to ever do it.”
Jeff McLane: “There’s a push when it comes to the Eagles’ underperforming offense vs. the 49ers’ subpar defense; but I give the edge to a great Eagles defense over a very good, but not great 49ers offense.” | Eagles 23, Niners 17.
Jeff Neiburg: “It hasn’t been an encouraging season from the Eagles’ offense, to put it mildly, but the 49ers are down multiple linebackers and don’t have an abundance of talent in the secondary. If the Eagles don’t beat themselves, which you can’t rule out, they should be able to establish a running game that gets the offense back on track.” | Eagles 24, Niners 20.
Olivia Reiner: “Maybe the Eagles can finish what the Seahawks started last week and continue to punish the 49ers on the ground. Maybe Jalen Hurts and the passing attack can exploit the 49ers’ thin inside linebacker corps with passes over the middle of the field. Neither have been characteristic of the offense this season, though. Or, maybe, the defense will stifle Shanahan’s offense while Nick Sirianni, Kevin Patullo, and the Eagles offense do just enough to get by. It wouldn’t be the first time.” | Eagles 24, Niners 20.
Matt Breen: “The Niners had a great finish to the season before their dud against the Seahawks, but they just seem too banged up to hang with the Eagles.” | Eagles 24, Niners 13.
The national media is divided over this one, but there’s a definitely lean toward the home team. Here’s a look at how they are predicting Sunday’s game …
Nick Sirianni opted to rest his starters in Week 18 despite a chance to get the No. 2 seed in the NFC.
What we’re saying about the Eagles
Our columnists had plenty to say about the Eagles this week, including Mike Sielski, who believes their toughest opponent is not any team in the bracket, but themselves.
“From Eagles fans to the players themselves, there has seemed to be an ever-present blanket of expectations weighing on them. It’s as if the only thing that would make anyone happy and relieved at any moment this season would be another Super Bowl victory — a benchmark so lofty that it virtually guarantees people will be worried at best and miserable at worst unless the Eagles win every game 49-0.”
Here’s more from our columnists …
David Murphy: “The pertinent question for Kevin Patullo and the Eagles now is what the offense will look like moving forward. This is a weird time of year. Sunday’s wild-card game against the 49ers could be the start of a month of football that leaves us memory-holing our four months of angst. Or, it could be the start of the offseason, and a litany of questions that sound way closer to January 2024 than January 2025.”
Marcus Hayes: “It was Zack Baun. The best linebacker in football over the last two seasons. The man tasked Sunday with covering and tackling Christian McCaffrey, the best offensive player in football, and George Kittle, the league’s best tight end. In a city that still worships linebackers like Chuck Bednarik, Seth Joyner, and Bill Bergey, Baun somehow remains largely anonymous.”
Mike Sielski: “There’s more than one way to be an excellent head coach, even if one of those ways gets a little more attention, a little more scrutiny, a little more credit these days. The film can tell you how good a coach Kyle Shanahan is. What Nick Sirianni does well sometimes isn’t so easy to see. Come Sunday, may the best savant win.”
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is a big Vic Fangio fan.
What the Niners are saying
Kyle Shanahan is one of Vic Fangio’s biggest fans. Shanahan is such a big fan, that he’s tried to hire Fangio in San Francisco “all the times that there’s been an opportunity.”
“I mean, Vic schematically, he has always been the best to me,” Shanahan said. “As good as anyone there is. Has a very sound scheme that he doesn’t need to change up very much. It just naturally changes with how he does his coverages, how he does his fronts, the personnel groupings he does. He’s very good at getting a bead on what you’re trying to do and making you adjust.”
Sunday should be an extremely hostile environment for the Niners. Tight end George Kittle recalled a few of his craziest stories on Thursday.
“I just thoroughly enjoy it because it’s so unique every single time,” Kittle said. “I’ll never forget my rookie season, the year they won the Super Bowl, it was my first time playing in the Linc. There were like four 10-year-old kids holding a seven-foot tall papier-mâché middle finger that had a rotating thing on it that made the middle finger come up. That was the coolest thing, I’ll never forget it. That was my rookie year and I was like this is excellent.”
Kittle isn’t the only member of the 49ers offense looking forward to playing in the Linc. Kyle Juszczyk is also ready to take on Eagles fans.
“It’s more difficult [going into a hostile environment] but the payoff is better,” Juszczyk told reporters. “There’s nothing like that feeling of going into a hostile territory and getting a win. Yeah, it’s a little bit more difficult, but it’ll be worth it in the end.”
It’s become fashionable to pile on first-year offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo. He’s the target of local and national self-styled experts, none of whom, you might note, works for an NFL or college team.
Certainly, no matter how close his friendship with Nick Sirianni, Patullo won’t survive next week if the offense again struggles and the Eagles don’t beat the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. The offense averaged 22.3 points, down 4.9 points from the Super Bowl team of 2024, and 311.2 yards, down 56 yards from last year.
If you know anything about the Eagles front office, without a deep postseason run, that sort of performance simply will not stand.
Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman have standards that are not being met.
Howie Roseman spent $128 million of Jeffrey Lurie’s money on that side of the ball, more than twice what they spent on defense. No matter how badly the players have executed, a quick playoff exit will spell the end for at least Patullo, and probably quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler as well. No player on the team has regressed as much as Jalen Hurts.
But if the day after the wild-card game turns out to be Black Monday for Patullo, his defenders, if they exist, should have some ammunition. Because regardless of the plays called, the real problem lies with the players running them. These are not failures of scheme or sequence. These are failures of execution, focus, and maybe even heart.
Is it age? Right tackle Lane Johnson is 35, but A.J. Brown and Saquon Barkley are just 28. Then again, in the NFL, high-usage receivers and backs age in dog years.
Is it fatigue? Maybe. The Eagles enter Sunday having played 38 games in the past two seasons, more than any other team. Including playoffs, Barkley had 482 total touches last season, second-most in NFL history.
Is it injury? Maybe. Offensive linemen Cam Jurgens, Landon Dickerson, and Johnson, who have 11 Pro Bowls among them, have been limited or absent all season. Brown battled a hamstring issue in training camp and through at least the first eight games, and he managed the lowest yardage total of his four-year tenure in Philly — but just 76 yards lower than last year.
In fact, as much as folks want to criticize the Eagles’ passing game, it actually averaged 6.4 more yards per game this season (194.3) than it did in 2024 (187.9).
Jason Kelce isn’t walking through that door, and it’s fair to ask how much the Eagles have really overcome his absence.
The brutal truth is the passing offense hasn’t been the same since center Jason Kelce retired after 2023, despite Jurgens making the last two Pro Bowls.
Are there other factors at work?
Was last year’s passing offense a casualty of Barkley’s 2,504 rushing yards, which is an NFL record, playoffs-inclusive? Or was it because the passing game wasn’t sharp in 2024, either? After all, Hurts threw for seven more touchdowns and 321 more yards in 2025.
Second, opposing defenses more steadfastly forced Hurts — and, of course, Patullo — to beat them through the air.
You can’t blame Patullo for the stagnation of Hurts’ game. His processing remains slow, his footwork remains clunky, his arm strength no better than average.
But what Patullo will be blamed for, fairly or not, is that he did not make more of Lurie’s $255 million man. It won’t matter that Patullo’s predecessor didn’t, either.
Kellen Moore was hired to maximize Hurts’ abilities the way he’d allegedly done with Dak Prescott as the Dallas Cowboys’ quarterbacks coach or offensive coordinator from 2018 to 2022 — emphasis on allegedly.
History has been kind to Kellen Moore … perhaps too kind.
Prescott’s passer rating during Moore’s five seasons was 98.8. His quarterback rating was 55.2. Since Moore left, it’s 99.4 and 73.4. Justin Herbert’s passer rating of 93.2 in 2023, Moore’s single season as the Chargers’ OC, matched Herbert’s career-low.
Just saying: Maybe Moore wasn’t the reason the Eagles shined as brightly as they did. After all, four healthy potential Hall of Famers on any offensive line can cover up lots of shortcomings.
Nobody likes watching Patullo call passing plays that give Hurts limited options and require too long to throw. Nobody likes watching running plays that, given the defensive alignment, appear doomed on conception. Those are on Patullo — but those also are infrequent. Besides, no OC nails every call.
Nobody likes watching Hurts deal with pressure in his face from up the middle on every third dropback because his center and guards get blown off the ball. Nobody likes seeing tight end Dallas Goedert rounding off his routes.
We’ve also seen Brown give up on routes and short-arm passes, seen Barkley hit holes soft, misread blocks, and run out of bounds when he didn’t have to, and we’ve seen Hurts miss wide-open receivers, sometimes two on the same play. He clearly has no interest in running the football much anymore; he ran 105 times this season, one-third less than his average over the last four seasons.
Sure, some of that is Patullo.
But a lot of it is a worn-down Hurts and his quickly aging cast.
Heading into the Eagles’ wild-card matchup with the San Francisco 49ers, fans have plenty of questions surrounding the team’s offense, adjustments they could make in the playoffs, and players who may step up in the postseason.
Before Sunday’s game at Lincoln Financial Field, The Inquirer’s Olivia Reiner took to Reddit for an AMA — or “Ask Me Anything” — to answer reader questions about the team … and the future of its offensive coordinator.
The following has been edited for length and clarity.
Despite the 11-win season, the offense has felt ‘enigmatic’ (and at times dysfunctional) compared to the defense this year. In your opinion, is the disconnect primarily viewed as a play-calling issue with Kevin Patullo, or are there deeper issues with the offensive players this year?
Reiner: It would be very easy to chalk all of the offense’s dysfunction up to one thing, but I don’t think that’s fair. The blame deserves to be spread around. But just anecdotally speaking, I feel like there have been too many instances this year where Hurts doesn’t have anywhere to go with the ball. He’s been forced to make plays out of structure, whether he’s scrambling for yardage or extending the play.
I think we saw in the season finale with Tanner McKee and the backups what happens when the Eagles don’t have a quarterback who can do those things. Re: the lack of answers, how much is that on Patullo for the play call? How much is that on Hurts for not changing the play if he has the freedom to do so based on what the defense presents before the snap? Or on the offense for not getting to the line fast enough for Hurts to make a change? Only the Eagles really know.
Jalen Hurts’ designed runs have been more frequent during the second half of the season.
What adjustments could we hope to see for the offense to finally get going in the playoffs
Reiner: I’m curious to see if Kevin Patullo calls more designed runs for Jalen Hurts now that the team is in the playoffs and they could be a little less concerned with the self-preservation aspect of it. Hurts has insisted throughout the season that his designed rushes being down are more of a product of the offense, not so much an issue of keeping him healthy, though, although Nick Sirianni has acknowledged the health aspect of it.
I wrote about Hurts’ designed rushes being down this year last month. His rushing ability has the power to help keep defenses honest and open up opportunities for his teammates. That could be the most logical tweak to the offense this late in the game. I wouldn’t expect wholesale changes at this point.
Do you think the eagles offense will be able to get it done if they don’t put together four solid quarters in four straight games?
Reiner: Well, that’s how they’ve won most games this season! Many games have come down to Vic Fangio’s defense playing nearly flawless to bail out an inconsistent offense. A.J. Brown referred to it earlier in the season as the defense putting a “Band-Aid” over the offense’s inability to produce over a full four quarters.
I’m not sure if that method will fly in the playoffs. The competition, of course, gets better in the postseason. But can the Eagles offense suddenly become this consistent, well-oiled machine after sputtering so many times throughout the regular season? I think they’re still going to need the defense to bail them out, and that doesn’t sound like a recipe for success going forward.
Jahan Dotson has just 18 catches on the season. Could he be more impactful in the postseason?
If you had to pick a player likely to take a big step forward in production in the playoffs, who would it be? Is anyone unexpected going to break out?
Reiner: Jahan Dotson was kind of that player last postseason, especially in the Super Bowl. I’m more surprised that he hasn’t been more of a factor in the passing game during the regular season given his contributions in February. Maybe he comes down with a couple of key catches in the postseason. Even if it’s just a couple, that would be notable, given that he has just 18 catches on the season (one fewer than 2024).
Regardless of Sunday’s outcome, do you expect major changes to the coordinator staff this offseason? Hopefully that change involves Kevin Patullo.
Reiner: This is pure speculation and not reporting: I would think that Sunday’s outcome has to be taken into consideration regarding any changes at the offensive coordinator position, and the outcome of any additional playoff games. A wild-card exit wouldn’t reflect well on anybody. Another Super Bowl win would. This postseason run is important for Kevin Patullo, as my colleague David Murphy wrote about this morning.
To check out the rest of Olivia’s AMA, click here.
After finishing the regular season with an 11-6 record, the Eagles are preparing for the first round of the NFL playoffs, where they’ll will host Christian McCaffrey and the San Francisco 49ers in what is expected to be a windy wild-card matchup.
Here’s how those in the local and national media are predicting Sunday’s game …
Inquirer predictions
As always, we start with our own writers. Here’s an excerpt from Jeff Neiburg’s prediction:
To see what our other beat writers are expecting from this NFC playoff matchup, check out our full Eagles-49ers predictions here.
Eagles safety Sydney Brown (left) tackles 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey during the two teams’ last meeting at the Linc in 2023.
National media predictions
Here’s a look at who the national media is picking for Sunday’s game …
ESPN: Six of nine panelists are picking the Eagles to win and advance.
CBS Sports: CBS Sports is also leaning toward the home team, with four of seven experts choosing the Birds.
USA Today: In a clear sweep, all six panelists like the Eagles Sunday.
The Athletic: They turned their picks over to a panel of 11 NFL insiders — coaches and high-ranking executives — and the majority (six) think the 49ers will upset the Eagles.
Bleacher Report: Bleacher Report picks against the spread, and their crew is leaning toward the 49ers, with five of seven analysts taking the away team and the 4.5 points they’ll be getting from the Eagles.
Yahoo! Sports: Frank Schwab has the Birds beating the Niners, 20-14.
Sporting News: Vinnie Iyer is picking the Eagles to win, 23-20.
Sports Illustrated: Six of the 10 MMQB writers have the Eagles advancing past the 49ers, and two (Gilberto Manzano and Andrew Brandt) have the Birds advancing to the Super Bowl, with Brandt picking them to win.
Eagles tight end Kylen Granson says he is still wrapping his head around the dichotomy of Dallas Goedert, nine months into their time as teammates.
Goedert’s reputation as a tight end preceded him, long before he set the franchise record in single-season touchdowns at his position this year. Granson was already familiar with Goedert’s greatness on the gridiron when they first met at Tight End University, the offseason summit for the do-it-all offensive skill players organized by George Kittle, Travis Kelce, and Greg Olsen.
It wasn’t until they became teammates this season when Granson got to see the other side of the 31-year-old tight end. Goedert, he says, is a “big goofball.”
Players across the locker room corroborate that stance. Their examples are endless. Jordan Mailata says he cherishes Goedert’s “ah-ha-ha” awkward laugh that slices through uncomfortable conversations and gets his teammates giggling again.
EJ Jenkins, the practice squad tight end, is always on his toes around Goedert, bracing himself for “I-got-you” tricks, when he points at Jenkins’ shirt as if there’s something on it only to swipe up at his nose when he looks down.
Goedert’s pièce de résistance is his pregame breakdown of the tight end huddle. Instead of a “hoorah” message, he explained, he tries to lighten the mood. His quote before the 2024 season-opener in São Paulo, Brazil against the Green Bay Packers — “You know why they made sidewalks? ‘Cause the streets aren’t for everybody.” — remains a crowd favorite.
“It’s kind of funny, seeing the offset between the two,” Granson said. “It’s like, this goofball and this competitor are the same person?”
The affable Dallas Goedert has been a popular teammate throughout his eight years in Philly.
But one doesn’t exist without the other, Goedert says.
“I think it’s important for me to be loose when I play the game,” Goedert said. “When we’re going out for pregame, I just kind of want to be able to make people smile. Be able to make people laugh, ‘cause that’s when I feel like I play the best.”
Goedert must be earning a few extra chuckles in the huddle this year. After an offseason of uncertainty, the veteran tight end is having a career year, scoring a personal-best 11 touchdowns through 15 starts, the most he’s had in the regular season in his eight years with the Eagles.
That touchdown total is tied for the league lead among tight ends and is more than double his previous career high (five touchdowns in 2019). Ten of those touchdowns have come in the red zone.
More uncertainty looms, as Goedert is nearing the end of his one-year, $10 million deal. But for now, Goedert is focused on the playoffs, with another milestone within reach — he’s two scores away from tying the franchise record for career postseason touchdowns (six, held by Harold Carmichael).
As much as Goedert tries to keep things light, there’s no joking about his ascent in Year 8.
“He’s been able to take advantage of the opportunities he’s had, and it’s awesome to see a guy like him who means so much in the room, to the offense, to this team,” said Jason Michael, the Eagles tight ends coach. “I don’t think there’s any question that his leadership shows who he is every day, and it’s cool to see that he’s been able to be rewarded for that.”
Dallas Goedert has been a touchdown machine for a team that has struggled in multiple aspects of offense this season.
The play that once worked “92% of the time,” according to former Eagles center Jason Kelce, isn’t the short-yardage juggernaut it was four years ago. Hurts has converted or scored on 77.8% of his quarterback sneak attempts this season, per Pro Football Focus, down from the 83% success rate the Eagles had achieved going into the year since 2021.
“The quarterback sneak hasn’t been working as good for us this year,” Goedert said. “So I feel like the next option [in the red zone] was me down there.”
The Tush Push was Goedert’s entry point to his red-zone scoring surge this season, beginning in the first quarter of the Eagles’ Week 4 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On first-and-goal from the 2, Hurts lined up under center in his typical quarterback sneak position — a staggered stance with his left leg forward and his right leg back.
He had no pushers behind him, though, giving the illusion that he was running a traditional quarterback sneak. Instead, Hurts shoveled the ball to Goedert, who was aligned tight to the formation in the back of a bunch set to the quarterback’s right. Goedert followed a trio of blockers into the end zone for his first red-zone touchdown of the season.
That touchdown gave way to nine more in the red zone over the next 12 games. Goedert has accounted for 58.8% of the Eagles’ red-zone receiving touchdowns, according to Next Gen Stats, which is the greatest share for any NFL player in 2025.
“We’ve just kind of been running with it and I’m going to keep trying to make them work,” Goedert said. “But until they don’t work, I see us still trying to find different ways to give me the ball in that situation.”
Dallas Goedert has proven easy for Jalen Hurts to find in the red zone this season.
Why is Goedert the most logical red-zone target in the Eagles passing offense? To Granson, the answer is simple.
“Big body, big body, big body,” Granson said.
At 6-foot-5, 256 pounds, Goedert is a big, strong target primed for physical catch-and-runs in the most crowded area of the field. Five of his touchdowns came on catches made behind the line of scrimmage, requiring him to run with a sense of “anger,” as Nick Sirianni puts it, to overpower defenders on his way to the end zone.
Size isn’t the only factor that makes Goedert a go-to target. To get vertical quickly and have success running after the catch, Michael said that the veteran tight end has to be able to trust his hands to secure those passes in traffic.
Michael asserted that Goedert catches more balls in practice than anybody on the team. He isn’t involved in the special teams periods, a time when Goedert can typically be found going through a catch circuit. Together, Michael and Goedert work on a plethora of catches, from one-handed to contested.
Goedert’s ability as a run blocker gets him on the field in the red zone, too. Four of Goedert’s red-zone touchdowns this season have had some sort of run-action component, including three scores on run-pass options and one on a play-action pass. The tight end credits Hurts and Saquon Barkley for forcing defenses to respect them as run threats, thus allowing Goedert to get a step on the defense before making a play.
“The more you can do as a player, the more opportunities you’re going to open for yourself,” Michael said. “The fact that Dallas is a player that can stay on the field every down as a run blocker, as a pass protector, and be able to do those things, when you can do that, it allows you as an offense to use those things to your advantage in certain situations.”
Dallas Goedert’s contract situation threatened his status as a member of the Eagles in 2025.
Uncertainty leads to opportunity
Guard Matt Pryor, a member of the same 2018 draft class that brought Goedert and Mailata to Philadelphia, has a preferred nickname for the tight end.
“I call him ‘Philly,’” Pryor said. “Yeah, ‘Philly Goedert.’ ‘Cause Dallas wanted him, but we drafted him.”
The Eagles ensured that the Dallas Cowboys, bracing for the retirement of tight end Jason Witten, wouldn’t have a chance to select Goedert. Howie Roseman moved up to select him out of South Dakota State with the No. 49 overall pick in the second round, hurdling the Cowboys at No. 50.
Philly and its offense have become synonymous with Goedert. The Britton, S.D., native is the longest-tenured member of the Eagles’ passing game and one of the most productive tight ends in franchise history. With his goal-line touchdown against the Buffalo Bills two weeks ago, Goedert broke Pete Retzlaff’s 1965 record for single-season touchdowns by an Eagles tight end.
Tush Push inefficiency aside, that feat wouldn’t have been possible a year ago. Goedert missed seven games due to injury, including three games with a hamstring injury and a four-game stint on injured reserve with a knee issue.
Even after the Super Bowl, Goedert’s odds of setting a franchise record this season — or suiting up for another game as an Eagle — would have seemed long. At the start of the new league year, Goedert’s future in Philadelphia hung in the balance entering the final year of his contract, which contained no guaranteed money. Grant Calcaterra said he didn’t expect Goedert to come back to the team this year as negotiations carried on into May.
Initially, Goedert didn’t return, missing the beginning of the offseason program. But the two sides eventually agreed to a restructured deal, bringing Goedert back into the fold for one more season at $10 million.
Dallas Goedert made up for lost time after returning to the Eagles before camp.
Between the injuries and uncertainty that characterized last year for Goedert, Calcaterra said their leader in the tight ends room never lost his sparkle.
“He’s definitely had a lot of ups and downs,” Calcaterra said. “I feel like, especially last year, he’s always been a really consistent guy, on and off the field. He’s never too high, never too low. He always stays really consistent. I think that’s really important as a football player, and then also just in general, especially as a guy who is one of our best players. Just to be the same guy all the time. And I feel like it’s really easier said than done, and he always has done a really good job of that.”
Goedert said he never lost belief in his abilities, even when “really unfortunate” injuries prevented him from getting on the field. Neither did Hurts, who reached out to Goedert last offseason to lend his support amid contract negotiations.
In June, Goedert explained that while Hurts didn’t recruit him back to the team, he made him feel like he was an important piece of the group. Seven months after Goedert’s return, few players have been more integral to the Eagles’ top-ranked red-zone offense this season. That success, Hurts said, is a result of the time they invested in the work.
“No one knows necessarily what the offseason looks like or what the future looks like in the offseason,” Hurts said. “But I know he’s working and I know we’re spending that time together to improve. So just to see all of that play out the way it has and knowing that everything has been earned … it’s been good to be able to get that quality work in and then see it come out and shine and just build upon it.”
Goedert will have at least one more opportunity to shine when the Eagles face the San Francisco 49ers in the wild-card round on Sunday. The 49ers defense and its banged-up inside linebacker corps have given up the fourth-most touchdowns in the league to tight ends this season.
Dallas Goedert’s touchdown-making has been a constant for the Eagles in an uneven 2025.
The veteran Goedert ought to know a thing or two about getting into the end zone. He said he also knows he plays his best when he’s feeling loose and cracking jokes before the game with his teammates.
“I think you’ve just got to be yourself out there,” Goedert said. “You’ve got to have fun. I’m really close with all the guys in the tight end room. They understand who I am from the time we’ve spent together. And if I get nervous, if I’m worried about something, if I’m scared, I feel like that will just pass on to them. So I keep it lighthearted knowing that you’ve just got to play the next play and play as hard as you can.”
More uncertainty lies ahead for Goedert, who is set to become a free agent this offseason. But Goedert ought to know that uncertainty can lead to opportunity, as evidenced by his whirlwind of a year.
“I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Goedert said. “I’m glad it worked out the way it did. I’m glad I’m back here.
“And hopefully, we can continue this year and go down the road and look back and maybe appreciate it a little bit more.”
With all due respect to Ralph Waldo Emerson, a door can be a wall sometimes, too.
Take poor Kevin Patullo, for instance.
The goal of every NFL assistant on either side of the football is to eventually land a coordinator gig. It can be a tough slog. In addition to the long hours and relative anonymity, a position coach must contend with the weight of the knowledge that his fate is only partially within his control. There are a lot of positions on a football team, and only so many ways to distinguish oneself from his peers. At times, a promotion to play-calling duties can feel more like a function of internal politics and personal relationships than good old-fashioned gridiron merit.
Last February, after climbing the coaching ranks for two decades, Patullo finally got his chance to hold the laminated play sheet and talk into the magic microphone. Two of the last three men to hold the position with the Eagles had landed head coaching gigs within a year. His door had finally opened. All Patullo had to do now was repeat as Super Bowl champion and make sure a historically great running game didn’t take a step backward despite a short offseason and a tougher schedule and another year of age tacked on to a veteran core that had remained uniquely healthy in 2024.
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense have sputtered under coordinator Kevin Patullo.
I’ll pause here to acknowledge the counterargument from Eagles fans.
Boooooooooooooooo!
Point taken. I’m not trying to paint Patullo as Gavroche in a headset. But I do wonder sometimes if he feels a little bit like Wile E. Coyote trying to run through a tunnel.
The Eagles offense took a lot of well-deserved heat during the regular season. Patullo has overseen a unit that fell from seventh in the league in scoring under Kellen Moore in 2024 with 463 points to 19th with 379 points. The Eagles likewise saw a significant drop in total yards, from eighth in the NFL to 24th, and yards per play, from 11th to 22nd. But the numbers also say that the bulk of the decline in overall production is attributable to something other than the passing concepts that have become the rage bait of choice of every amateur internet film sleuth with an NFL+ subscription. The Eagles offensive line was unsustainably dominant last season. This year, that dominance has not been sustained.
You can see it with your eyes. The numbers will back them up. Last season, Eagles rushers averaged 3.2 yards before contact, as good of a common statistical measure as there is for judging run-blocking. This year, they have averaged 2.6 yards. The difference between those two numbers is basically the difference between their overall yards-per-carry average last season and this year. They averaged 1.7 yards after contact in 2024, and 1.6 yards after contact in 2025.
Once can certainly argue that the selection and sequencing of plays can have an impact on an offensive line’s ability to block. One can also argue that the best coordinators are counterpunchers. What worked for a team last year, against last year’s opponents, may require adaptation in order to fit the present reality. But one can’t argue that the best coordinators can turn Fred Johnson into Lane Johnson, or Tyler Steen into Mekhi Becton. Nor can they fix whatever physical ailments have limited players like Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens.
The absence of star tackle Lane Johnson with a foot injury has not helped the Eagles offense.
Patullo certainly has a role in overcoming these things. I’m just not convinced that this year’s offense would look any different if Moore had remained at coordinator.
The pertinent question for Patullo and the Eagles now is what the offense will look like moving forward. This is a weird time of year. Sunday’s wild-card game against the 49ers could be the start of a month of football that leaves us memory-holing our four months of angst. Or, it could be the start of the offseason, and a litany of questions that sound way closer to January 2024 than January 2025.
The 49ers are something of a fresh start for Patullo. A new opportunity. The offensive line is rested. Lane Johnson is expected to be back. The Eagles have essentially had two weeks to prepare for the playoffs after their conscious mailing-in of Week 18. The opponent is ripe for a statement. The 49ers defense is a legacy unit that right now looks a lot closer to Hewlett Packard than Apple.
The Niners are a lot worse than even those of us who know how bad they’ve been probably realize. They finished the regular season with one of the NFL’s 10 worst defenses in yards per play (5.6, 22nd), net yards per pass attempt (6.5, 23rd) and turnover percentage (8.4, 23rd). The overall numbers looked good in Week 18 against the Seahawks, but Seattle punted once and twice had the ball inside the 10-yard-line and walked away with no points. All told the Seahawks left at least nine points and more accurately closer to 13 on the field. This, in a game when they only really had seven possessions.
Over the last four weeks, the 49ers have allowed 138 yards on 17 carries to Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears, 92 on 17 to D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai, and 171 on 33 to Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet. Bryce Huff is starting for them. Enough said.
Patullo needs this one.
Potential replacements are no doubt keeping a keen eye. Mike McDaniel, the former 49ers offensive coordinator recently fired by the Dolphins, is one of the best run-game schemers in the league. Since he arrived in Miami in 2022, the Dolphins rank sixth in the NFL rushing average at 4.5 yards per attempt. Kliff Kingsbury, who recently parted ways with the Commanders, led an offense that ranked third in the NFL in yards per carry in his two seasons at the helm. That includes 5.4 yards per attempt this year, despite missing Jayden Daniels for much of it.
Coach Nick Sirianni with offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo before the Eagles played the Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 19.
The Eagles moved decisively at the coordinator position in 2023. With four losses in their last seven regular-season games and a wild-card loss, 2025 would look different only in the level of drama that accompanied a late-season swoon.
The Eagles are better than the 49ers. They need to be a team that scores plenty of points against this sort of opponent, in this sort of situation. This is a time of year when the scoreboard matters much more than individual coaching careers. Sunday will matter for both.
The biggest matchup in Sunday’s wild-card playoff game might be Vic Fangio’s Eagles defense vs. Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers offense. But in another universe, Fangio could have been back on the other sideline alongside Shanahan.
Fangio had a brief tenure as defensive coordinator with San Francisco from 2011-14 under Jim Harbaugh, but he left the team when Harbaugh was fired at the end of the 2014 season.
Shanahan revealed that he has tried to bring Fangio back to the Bay numerous times since then, but something’s always gotten in the way, including in 2022, after DeMeco Ryans left to become head coach of the Texans. Shanahan hoped to hire Fangio to replace him, but two days earlier, Fangio ended up signing with Miami.
“I’ve tried all the times that there’s been an opportunity,” Shanahan told reporters Wednesday in Santa Clara, Calif. “Just, he’s always been with someone else when that’s happened. I mean, I tried really hard in ’17 when we first came here and I tried like two other times on separate occasions.
“Vic’s a guy that I’ve always respected, gone against a number of times before I became a head coach, so that’s why I respect him so much and through the process have been able to become friends with him.”
A number of successful defensive coordinators have coached under Shanahan, including Ryans and current defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who returned to the Niners in 2025 after a stint as head coach of the Jets.
Vic Fangio was the 49ers defensive coordinator from 2011-14.
But Shanahan calls Fangio the best he’s ever seen. In four games against Fangio, Shanahan’s offenses have averaged 10.3 points and 290 yards.
“I mean, Vic schematically, he has always been the best to me,” Shanahan said. “As good as anyone there is. Has a very sound scheme that he doesn’t need to change up very much. It just naturally changes with how he does his coverages, how he does his fronts, the personnel groupings he does. He’s very good at getting a bead on what you’re trying to do and making you adjust.
“It always starts off cool and then somehow, some way we were competing,” Barkley said Thursday.
The two running backs, who are among the best at their position in this generation, and possibly any generation, later went their separate ways. But soon after, they were texting, and one thing led to another before they started playing chess against each other online. “I won, by the way,” Barkley said. During one Pro Bowl trip, Barkley and McCaffrey competed in Connect Four.
They are friends, to be clear. And Barkley admitted Thursday, three days before the Eagles and McCaffrey’s San Francisco 49ers meet in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs, that there’s a little extra juice on his end for this one, even if the two have no impact on how the other performs on the field Sunday.
“Any time you go against a guy who is such a great back and future Hall of Famer, in my opinion, you definitely want to go out there and perform at a high level,” Barkley said. “It always comes down to, I can’t stop him, he can’t stop me, but I would be lying to you if I didn’t say that you want to go out there and win, especially against a guy like that.”
May the best man win?
It is not hyperbolic to say that whichever star running back performs better could send their team to the divisional round. Both will have a big impact on their team’s success.
Saquon Barkley helped power the Eagles to a win over the Bills before resting in Week 18.
Barkley’s offense is facing a banged-up 49ers defense in a game where the Eagles’ running game, which has sometimes been stuck in the mud this season, should find success. Between the two, it’s McCaffrey that has the tougher matchup. The 29-year-old led the NFL in touches (413) and was second in all-purpose yards (2,133), but the Eagles have a stout defensive front and a linebacking duo that could make life difficult for McCaffrey and 49ers tight end George Kittle.
The Eagles finally seemed to get the running game pointed in the right direction over the final month of the season, but the starting offense’s last showing was a miserable second half during the team’s 13-12 road win over Buffalo. Barkley rushed 11 times for 51 yards in the first half, then eight times for 17 yards in the second half. But Barkley, whose 16-game rushing yard production was nearly cut in half year-over-year, expressed confidence that the Eagles have been moving things in the right direction.
“We got to focus on the little things and make sure we’re all on the same page,” he said. “Usually when we do that, we’re hard to stop.”
The 49ers remain without star linebacker Fred Warner and also are down his replacement, Tatum Bethune, for the rest of the postseason. Fellow linebackers Dee Winters and Luke Gifford were held out of practice for the second consecutive day on Thursday.
“They might be beat up but they’re still a great team over there,” Barkley said. “You don’t get to the playoffs by accident. They had the opportunity to be the No. 1 seed. You don’t get to that by accident.”
Barkley pointed to San Francisco’s game against the Colts and Jonathan Taylor, who Barkley said probably was the best running back in the league. During that Week 16 game, the 49ers held Taylor to 46 yards on 16 carries in a 48-27 San Francisco victory. McCaffrey, meanwhile, carried 21 times for 117 yards and caught six passes for 29 yards and two scores.
Christian McCaffrey (23) outdueled Jonathan Taylor for a key 49ers win in December.
Barkley probably watched that game closely this week for the purposes of film study, but he has long talked about his love for studying the game, especially the players who play his position. He has advocated for running backs to be valued more and last year helped bring the position back to the forefront. It’s why he was rooting for McCaffrey, his friend, to become the first running back to ever have 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in the same season twice. McCaffrey finished with 1,202 on the ground and 924 receiving yards.
“I’m a fan of the position,” Barkley said. “I study all of them. I give my hats off to [McCaffrey]. He’s one of the best to ever do it, to be completely honest, and is definitely going to be a challenge for our defense. Our defense is definitely up to the task.”
Barkley said he’ll be watching closely. The time between offensive series is for rest, recovery, and to make adjustments, but in games against other greats, Barkley might find himself looking at the video board a little more or watching the action on the field.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t,” he said. “It’s more of as a fan and an appreciation of the sport and the position that we play.”
Then it’s back to the field to try to one-up the fellow running back he loves to compete against.
Lane Johnson (foot) participated in practice and was listed as a limited participant for the second consecutive day. Grant Calcaterra (ankle) was limited after sitting out on Wednesday. Jalen Carter (hip) and Dallas Goedert (knee) remained limited.
Nakobe Dean (hamstring) and Marcus Epps (concussion) were upgraded to full participants Thursday after being limited on Wednesday.
Brett Toth (concussion) remained sidelined, and Landon Dickerson (rest) also sat out Thursday. Dickerson has taken Thursday practices off lately.
