Here are the top five keys to the game for the 49ers when they take on the Eagles on Sunday.
1. Run the ball
It should go without saying that the 49ers came out passing in the NFC Championship Game against the Eagles, and on the team’s opening drive, Brock Purdy tore his UCL. Just running the ball would have prevented that. Christian McCaffrey, the 49ers’ running back, is their MVP. Allow him to take the blame. Guard Purdy, who tends to pass passes to the opposing team and struggles to throw the ball in the rain.
2. Pass from the shotgun
When Purdy was hurt in Philadelphia during the previous season, Kyle Shanahan ordered that there be no slow-developing play-action passes from under center. Put Purdy in the shotgun and assist him in getting the ball out of his hands fast out of respect for the Eagles pass rush.
3. Block Haason Reddick
Consider him carefully. Because the 49ers never allow Micah Parsons to ruin a game, they always take him seriously. Reddick is that good; treat him with the same decency. In other words, avoid blocking him one-on-one when using a tight end. Every snap, block him with multiple players.
4. Keep Jalen Hurts in the pocket
Although Hurts is a competent quarterback, he lacks the pocket passing ability to defeat the 49ers from one position. The 49ers should prevail if they can keep him immobile. However, they ought to lose if they cut through him and create scramble lanes. Furthermore, the 49ers have never been good at stopping mobile quarterbacks.
5. Make a mid-game adjustment
Unlike the 49ers, whose head coach Kyle Shanahan has not been able to make mid-game adjustments in the biggest games of his career, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni makes a good one every week, which is a major reason the Eagles have been able to come from behind and win games. Consider the two Super Bowls that he lost despite having a sizable lead. He was unable to complete the game by making the necessary in-game adjustments in both cases. That’s an adjustment he will have to make on Sunday.
