(5) San Francisco 49ers @ (4) Philadelphia Eagles
Sunday, January 11, 4:30 PM ET
Here is the matchup on Wild Card weekend where the unstoppable force meets the immovable object.
In one corner, you have the Philadelphia Eagles, whose offense has been one of the worst in the NFL this season when it comes to three-and-outs. In fact, considering the payroll of their players and their history of production, nobody should be considered worse than them.
In the other corner, you have the San Francisco 49ers, who have the fewest sacks of any team in the NFL. Which one is going to give in this matchup?
The Eagles are the reigning Super Bowl champions, but they don't look ready to defend their title. More than just an inconsistent offense, the Eagles have looked incompetent on that side of the ball for the majority of the year, struggling not only with three-and-outs, but turnovers as well.
The 49ers have dealt with injuries all year, but they have endured. They've been one of the most resilient teams in the NFL, and Robert Saleh is such a valuable piece for them to have at this time of year. In fact, this is a chess match of all chess matches. Kyle Shanahan and his offense going up against the vaunted Vic Fangio scheme, and the Nick Sirianni offense going up against the Saleh defense.
It's a must-see matchup in every possible way. I think this one will come down to which team can hit the explosives and flip the field. The Eagles' Super Bowl pedigree matters, but against the 49ers, it really doesn't. This is a 49ers team that has been there before as well.
So far, I've picked all road teams. I'm not sure I like that, although this is like a test where you've got like four "As" circled in a row, and you start to question yourself. I'm not going to not fill in another "A" just because I don't want a fifth one. The Eagles are 3.5-point favorites at home and I think they can win a defensive slugfest.
Prediction: Eagles win 20-17