This matchup features two quarterbacks who are new to the playoff spotlight. Jalen Hurts is in his 3rd season (2nd as a starter), and was bounced in the first round of the playoffs last year. He followed that up with an MVP caliber season, and secured his first playoff win last week. Brock Purdy was the very last pick in the 2022 NFL draft and most did not expect him to make the active roster this season. After season ending injuries to Trey Lance & Jimmy Garappolo, Purdy has gone 7-0 in games he has started this season (8-0 including the Dolphins game). 

On the offensive side of the ball, these teams have two of the best offensive lines in the NFL. The Eagles offensive line grades out slightly higher both in pass blocking and run blocking. In terms of offensive weapons, both of these teams have plenty. The Eagles have a fantastic wide receiver tandem in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, with Dallas Goedert and Miles Sanders as key contributors as well. San Francisco features Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle, and the list goes on. When you factor in all of these offensive weapons for the 49ers mixed in with Kyle Shanahan’s elite playcalling, it’s no surprise that Brock Purdy has had success. The adjusted DVOA metrics suggest the 49ers have a slight edge on offense, whereas our data and PFF both show a slight edge for the Eagles. 

Moving to defense, the Eagles defensive line had a league leading 70 sacks this season. The 49ers were just a few spots behind, both of these teams rank within the top 5 in most key defensive metrics. The Eagles are slightly better in pass coverage, but San Francisco is slightly better against the run. Overall, these defenses are both amongst the top 3 in the league across all data sources. 

The market has been interesting to monitor leading up to this game. The line opened Eagles -1.5, and the money quickly came pouring in on Philly. Throughout the week, this line moved to a consensus -2.5, which has been juiced up for the later part of the week. Over the last 48 hours, several books have shown a juiced +3 for the 49ers, but those 3’s have been quickly bought off for the most part. 

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