Offensive fireworks in the NFC-Spitezn game?

Summit meeting in the NFC! The first team in the National Football Conference takes on the second team in the National Football Conference, making it the absolute top game at Lincoln Financial Field. Not only is it a rematch of last season’s NFC Championship Game, it is also one of the most excitingly anticipated games of the season.

The reasons for this are, of course, the course of the clash in January, the trash talk on social media afterwards and the fact that both teams are hot contenders to win the Super Bowl again this year – as the ranking in the conference already shows. It is therefore not surprising that it is difficult to make a prediction between the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers. You can find out why we still dare to do so in the following lines:

It was one of those games that happen far too rarely in a season: Two teams at absolute eye level, with great quarterbacks and football at the very highest level. It was just such a game between the Eagles and Bills last Sunday and it had a memorable ending in overtime, in which Philly won 37-34. This makes them the only franchise so far to have ten wins to their name.

The Niners were already allowed to play in Seattle on Thanksgiving and won 31-13 against their division rivals. They are therefore well on their way to winning the NFC West again and thus qualifying for the playoffs. San Francisco will have to win the direct duel between the Eagles and 49ers in order to seriously challenge for first place in the conference. The odds for this are attractive, but still surprising

Philadelphia Eagles – Statistics & current form

Now it’s clear: This Eagles team is for real! Last year’s Super Bowl participant looks a little more mature this season, so it’s hardly surprising that the bookmakers have them among the top favorites to win the championship. In general, however, it’s worth checking the odds for a possible Super Bowl win for both franchises before the Eagles vs. 49ers matchup, as they are currently the two hottest NFC protagonists

Incredible potential

The way Philadelphia have ploughed through the season is unquestionably impressive. Their only loss came somewhat surprisingly against the New York Jets, but otherwise they have held their own against top teams such as the Chiefs, Bills and Cowboys. Quarterback Jalen Hurts is having another outstanding season and it’s not just his eleven rushing touchdowns that underline this assessment. The development of the previous season, when the 25-year-old made an enormous leap as a passer, continues seamlessly.

Of course, it also helps the playmaker that he has some of the best offensive playmakers in his ranks. These include wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, who – combined – have already caught balls for over 1,700 yards and twelve touchdowns. With 17 passing touchdowns to date, it’s clear that these two have a huge impact on the offensive output. Tight end Dallas Goedert has been missing an important target recently, but the signs are positive that he will be able to start.

In the running game, it is D’Andre Swift who gets the most run attempts, which is of course also reflected in the yardage numbers. With 770 yards and four touchdowns, he is the most successful running back on the roster. Against the Bills, Lane Johnson, a key component of the offensive line, was out, but the team still managed 185 rushing yards. Unsurprisingly, we dare to predict that the rushing game between the Eagles and 49ers will be significantly limited by the visitors.

Statistically, the defense is anything but a top unit with 341 yards allowed and 22.4 points, but the strong offense has made up for this weakness so far. While the run defense is top three in the league, only three teams allow more yards in the passing game than Philly. In addition, Nick Sirianni’s team has already conceded at least 20 points seven times, while their upcoming opponent has only done so three times.

Key Players:

• QB: Jalen Hurts
• RB: D’Andre Swift
• WR: A.J. Brown
• TE: Dallas Goedert
• K: Jake Elliott

San Francisco 49ers – stats & current form

There are few teams in the NFL that strike such a balance between a good running and passing game as San Francisco. A top-7 rushing offense and top-8 passing offense adds up to a top-3 offense in the league in yards-per-game, and that directly shows the versatility of head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offensive unit. Of course, this can be attributed to several factors and playmakers

Variable offense with numerous playmakers

First and foremost is 23-year-old quarterback Brock Purdy, who has recently shone again with strong performances after a brief slump. After the bye week in week nine, he made just one interception and threw seven touchdown passes in three games. It’s good to see that his starting spots vary from game to game. Depending on the matchup, it’s Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle or Christian McCaffrey who play a key role in the offense’s passing game. So far, no defense has been able to completely shut down all of these options, so it comes as no surprise that the Niners have recorded the third-highest scoring average in the league so far with 28.2 points.

In the rushing game, it is above all McCaffrey who has already recorded eleven touchdowns and is currently the NFL’s rushing leader with almost 1,000 rushing yards. He has reached the end zone with the ball at least once in ten of eleven games this season, which also explains why the odds for his 12th touchdown of the season between the Eagles and 49ers are at manageable levels.

The defense – after a slump between weeks six and eight – also matured into a unit that deserves respect. In the last three games, they collected 15 sacks and only allowed a total of 30 points. On average, they have only allowed 15.5 points per game, which makes them the best team in the league.

Key Players:

• QB: Brock Purdy
• RB: Christian McCaffrey
• WR: Brandon Aiyuk
• TE: George Kittle
• K: Jake Moody

Philadelphia Eagles – San Francisco 49ers head-to-head comparison / H2H record

The last match is still fresh in the minds of die-hard NFL fans. Philadelphia won 31-7 at home in the Conference Championship Game on January 29, 2023, a game overshadowed by the injury to San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy and the subsequent loss of backup playmaker Josh Johnson. At the latest after Purdy’s withdrawal due to injury, it was no longer the hoped-for duel at eye level. Hopefully that’s exactly what will happen when the two teams face each other at 10:25 p.m. on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.

Philadelphia Eagles – San Francisco 49ers Tip

In January’s matchup, Jalen Hurts totaled 39 rushing yards and we’d like to start our upcoming Eagles vs. 49ers prediction with that stat. Why? Because the Niners have the second-best rushing defense this year, but they haven’t faced such a mobile quarterback. It is conceivable that Hurts will record more rushing yards on Sunday than in the direct duel in January. But that’s not all: our recommendation stands and falls with his performance. We have no doubt that he will be able to build on his good performances and even cause problems for the opposing defense with his runs. We believe that the Eagles team is mature enough to bring home the victory.

Because we are of this opinion and also choose the home win between the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers with our betting tip, we are quite surprised by the odds distribution on the markets. With this recommendation, we are backing the underdog, who is sometimes given a handicap of 2.5 points in the various betting apps. The team from the Bay Area has repeatedly had problems keeping their opponents in the game for too long this season and that will take its revenge in this matchup. Philly trailed by ten points in both games against the Chiefs and Bills and still won the game. All in all, however, we expect a game at eye level between two teams that have recently won five and three in a row respectively

All in all, we trust both offenses a little more than the defenses, so we expect both teams to at least break the 20-point mark. Then it’s not far to the 46.5-point mark, so we favor the “over” here.