Eagles-49ers Preview

The Eagles stay at home this Sunday as the 49ers come to town in a very important game with playoff implications for both teams. The 49ers are coming off a big win Monday night, and sit at 6-7 and must win to keep their playoff hopes alive. The 49ers are just 1-5 on the road this season.

The Eagles are banged up at the wide receiver position, but they also were last week, and DeSean Jackson proved that as long as he plays well, that is all we need at the wide receiver position. Jeremy Maclin is out this game, which means Reggie Brown will get the start at wide received opposite Jackson, and Kevin Curtis is returning to the lineup for the first time in about 2 months. That is not a very strong wide receiving corps besides Jackson. Also, tight end Brent Celek who looks like he is going to play has also been banged up.

It is hard to say how the wintery conditions will affect the game until the game actually starts and we see how much snow accumulation is on the field, and how cold it is at game time. The 49ers are a warm weather team, and you would think the Eagles would benefit from a cold game. They probably would, but the 49ers have a very strong rushing attack in Frank Gore, who should get a lot of carries if the weather is bad.

The Eagles offense has been playing very well as of late. They need to continue doing the same things on offense. Mixing the run and the pass, giving Weaver and McCoy their fair share of carries, getting Jackson the ball, and mixing Michael Vick into the game plan effectively. This has all been clicking lately. The defense however, needs to step it up. The defense was terrible against the Giants. They first need to shut down Frank Gore. Gore is the best offensive weapon on the 49ers, and if you shut down Gore, you can definitely beat the 49ers. If they are able to shut down Gore, they need to get pressure on Alex Smith and not give him time in the new "spread" offense the 49ers have been using the help out Smith. Getting pressure is another thing the Eagles defense was unable to do against the Giants.

The Eagles can clinch a playoff spot tomorrow with a win and a Giants loss, or a win and a Cowboys win. Obviously we won't be rooting for the Cowboys to win, so let's hope the Giants lose to the Redskins.