The Eagles will play a recognizable opponent in the NFC Championship game when the San Francisco 49ers visit Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. The Eagles are one victory away from making a Super Bowl comeback.
In order to secure a position in the championship game, the Philadelphia Eagles (14-3) defeated the New York Giants 38-7 on Saturday. On Sunday night, Philadelphia watched as the Niners (13-4) upset the Cowboys 19-12 at Levi’s Stadium.
In their most recent meeting, San Francisco defeated Philadelphia 17-11 in Week 2 of the 2021 regular season as Jimmy Garoppolo threw one touchdown pass and ran in another.
Jalen Hurts, an All-Pro quarterback, struggled in the defeat, completing only 12 of his 23 passes for 190 yards. His 82 yards of rushing included a 1-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
With a 32-6 season-opening victory over Atlanta in that last meeting, Nick Bosa had two sacks and San Francisco’s defense completely shut out Philadelphia.
Both teams have significantly improved since their Week 2 meeting, and the Eagles’ attack is now much more dynamic thanks to the arrival of A.J. Brown.
We’re looking at some early statistics for the NFC Championship Game as preparation is about to get underway.
With Sunday’s victory, San Francisco equaled Dallas, the Green Bay Packers, and the Pittsburgh Steelers for second place all-time in postseason victories with 36.
Only New England has more, with 37.
Just 98 explosive plays were allowed by San Francisco’s superior defense during the regular season, which matched for fourth-fewest in the NFL, according to TruMedia.
With 80 explosive plays, the Jalen Hurts-led Eagles offense came in second in the NFL, just behind the Kansas City Chiefs.
Memorial Field. Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports, Kevin Jairaj
Hurts’ Oklahoma Sooners defeated Purdy’s Iowa State Cyclones 42-41 in 2019 before Hurts became an NFL standout.
Both quarterbacks combined for more than 330 yards of total offense and five touchdowns on that Big 12 game day.
According to TruMedia, the anticipated points added statistic, which gauges how effectively a defense reduces an opponent’s probability of scoring on each play, puts the 49ers defense in first place in the NFL with 114.98.
Only Micah Parsons has more pressures per season than Nick Bosa’s 90, making the Eagles the NFL’s sack masters of 2022.
Bosa is the NFL’s most effective edge rusher, according to PFF.
The Eagles’ attack, according to Football Perspective, is so effective that even when Philadelphia concentrates on the rushing game, they still gain more ground per play than their opponents do in the air.
Philadelphia leads the NFL in running first downs and is tied for second in the NFL in rushing yards. The Eagles are also ranking fifth best with a 4.87 yard per carry average. Philadelphia’s pass defense, meanwhile, has been outstanding. The Eagles’ opponents are averaging just 4.80 net yards per pass attempt, which is the best rate in the league, even after accounting for the NFL-high 15 interceptions (and the NFL-best 3.4% interception rate).
The San Francisco 49ers are 3-3 versus the Eagles since 2010, while they are 19-14-1 overall.
With Jalen Hurts at the helm, the Philadelphia Eagles will run your team out of the stadium, but the 49ers are the only team built to create a traffic jam.
The players live in Room 112. With his recent rushing effort, Eagles running back Kenneth Gainwell just joined some of the franchise’s all-time greats.
Jalen Hurts, the quarterback for the Eagles, has completed 50% of his passes that are 25 yards or longer (20-of-40), resulting in 798 yards, 10 touchdowns, 1 interception, and a quarterback rating of 125.0.
Hurts has the most touchdowns and the best passer rating in the NFL while attempting passes of more than 25 yards based on those stats. The 49ers, his opponent in the NFC Championship, allow a 41% rate on passes of 25 yards or more (16-of-39), resulting in 687 yards, five touchdowns, two interceptions, and a 106.6 rating allowed, placing San Francisco in the bottom five.