Coming off of their dominating Week 1 victory over the Atlanta Falcons, the Eagles face a different type of test this Sunday.
Not only do they face a better team in the San Francisco 49ers, but they also face something they didn’t have in Week 1 — expectations.
Playing in front of a sold-out Lincoln Financial Field for the first time since 2019, fans are going to be expecting to see the same kind of game from the Eagles on Sunday that they played last Sunday.
Here is why I think they will get what they are hoping for and the Eagles will beat the 49ers:
Sirianni advantage remains: The Eagles coaching staff intentionally didn’t show any of their offense throughout the preseason, holding onto the advantage they had as an unknown staff. That advantage paid off in Week 1 as they dropped 32 points on the Falcons. Although there is now one game of tape of Sirianni’s Eagles, that is nowhere near the five years of tape the Eagles have to work with of Kyle Shanahan’s offense. Sirianni won’t be able to lean on being an unknown for too long, but that advantage is not gone after one week.
Eagles receivers have advantage vs. 49ers secondary: The 49ers are banged up in the secondary, and will be without Jason Verrett, who is out for the season with a torn ACL. They do not have much at the position besides Verrett. It is possible that both Emmanuel Moseley and Josh Norman play, but even if Moseley does, he won’t be at 100%. The Eagles receivers, coming off of a strong Week 1, should be able to win their matchups vs. the 49ers corners. With the expectation that the 49ers will try to take away the short throws, there should be chances for some big plays down the field.
Eagles have the better quarterback: You know the expression — if you have two quarterbacks, you really don’t have one. The 49ers are currently dealing with the same issue the Eagles painfully dealt with all last season, trying to force their backup quarterback onto the field while also insisting they believe in their starter. It is just a matter of time until the 49ers bench Jimmy Garoppolo for Trey Lance. He might have had a good Week 1, but chances are the Garoppolo time at quarterback is coming to a crash landing at one point — and it likely isn’t going to be too long until it does. The Eagles have the advantage at quarterback heading into this game, and often times, the team with the better quarterback wins the game.
49ers aren’t that good: The 49ers are definitely better than the Falcons — but they aren’t as good as most are making them out to be. Yes, they were missing Garoppolo, but the 49ers won just six games last year. They barely beat the Lions in Week 1. The Lions did make a run in the second half to make it close, but the 49ers still gave up 164 yards to the Lions in the first half, and then proceeded to give up 430 yards overall to a really bad offense. Their offensive line was 22nd in the NFL in pass blocking last week, per Pro Football Focus. Their pass rush was better, at 8th overall. Both units ranked below the Eagles’ lines.
It is also worth noting that Shanahan has been the 49ers head coach for four full seasons. Outside of the 13-3 season in 2019, he has had a losing record in the other three. Shanahan is a great offensive mind, but it is still very debatable whether he is a great head coach, and if his teams should be feared.
The 49ers are a challenge, but they are not a dominant team that the Eagles have no business competing with, and they are very beatable.
They beat them last year: Last year’s Eagles were a complete disaster. They were bad on offense, bad on defense and looking back now it’s pretty clear the coaching staff wasn’t doing a great job either. Yet still they went into San Francisco and beat the 49ers, their only road win of the season.
The 49ers won’t be starting Nick Mullens at quarterback like they did last year, but the Eagles won’t be starting Carson Wentz either. Having Garoppolo at quarterback is an upgrade over Mullens, but it shouldn’t be enough to turn a home loss last season to a bad Eagles team into a win on the road over a much better one.
49ers are banged up: Last year it was the Eagles that went into each game short handed and dealing with injuries. This week it is the 49ers shuffling around their roster and trying to deal with injuries at multiple positions.
The 49ers lost both starting running back Raheem Mostert and starting cornerback Jason Verrett to season-ending injuries last week, two of the best players on their roster. Receiver Brandon Aiyuk, although he played last week, is dealing with a hamstring injury. Dee Ford is dealing with a back injury and Nick Bosa is listed as having a knee injury.
The Eagles, meanwhile, could have their full 22 starters ready to play on Sunday if Rodney McLeod returns to action after missing Week 1.
It didn’t happen often last season, and it might not happen many more times this season, but the Eagles are the healthier team heading into this matchup.
First game with fans at Lincoln Financial Field: Sometimes things are pretty simple. This game falls under that category.
There is no way the Eagles are losing their first sold-out home game since 2019.
Prediction: Eagles 31, 49ers 21
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
