Kittle (Achilles) will travel to Australia with the 49ers and "is trending in the right direction to play" in the season opener Sept. 10 versus the Rams, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
The 49ers placed Hobbs (groin) on injured reserve Tuesday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.
Willis (concussion) participated in Tuesday's practice, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.
McCaffrey (undisclosed) suited up and went through drills at Tuesday's practice, according to Matt Lively of CBS Sports Bay Area.
Juszczyk (finger) is not practicing Tuesday, Matt Barrows of The Athletic reports.
Bosa (knee) worked to the side on the practice field Monday and is expected to do the same Tuesday, with a return to practice planned for Wednesday, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said Tuesday that Hurts has "embraced" the new offense and is "excited about it" headed into the season, John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.
Kittle (Achilles) participated in practice Monday and plans to do so again Tuesday, David Lombardi of the San Francisco Standard reports.
49ers general manager John Lynch said Tuesday the team hopes to have Evans (groin) back at practice next week, David Lombardi of the San Francisco Standard reports.
Sam (foot) reverted to the Eagles' injured reserve list Monday, Andrew DiCecco of InsideTheBirds.com reports.
There’s little doubt here that the Eagles prevail when the final whistle is blown, but this spread has ballooned to such a point that value now exists with the visitors. While the 49ers were put into a blender by the Seahawks in Week 18, their offense was without Trent Williams and Ricky Pearsall, both of whom should be back Sunday. Philadelphia remains stout defensively, but it has faced few offenses of this caliber and rarely wins by margin against such teams. The Eagles will score some, but can they do so consistently enough on a per-drive basis to cover a TD against a 49ers offense that was on fire up until last week?
FanDuel. Coming back to the under long reception prop for Jauan Jennings after cashing in on this in Week 18. This is a similarly brutal matchup for Jennings against the Eagles stout secondary. If you exclude Week 18 (resting starters) and Week 6 (Quinyon Mitchell hurt), Philadelphia allowed the fourth fewest receptions of at least 16+ air yards per game (2.1), at the second lowest catch rate (32.3%, per Fantasy Points). Jennings is sure to see a whole lot of Mitchell, as well as Cooper DeJean when he’s aligned in the slot. Even though Jennings cleared this line more often than not in the regular season (8/15), I like the under in this one.
Both of these offenses are more than capable but will they find big plays today? I don't see it with major OL concerns on each side as Lane Johnson is officially inactive for the Eagles and Trent Williams potentially compromised in his return to action. The Eagles defense grades out as a top 3 stop unit for me and they'll challenge SF at every turn. Meanwhile the 49ers stop unit is extremely banged up but matches up against a run first Eagles attack. It's not the best of the number by any stretch however it's still worth a partial position for us today.
This could be a run heavy game, as both teams lean more towards their run game. Wind is expected this afternoon in Philly which will make downfield passing and kicking more difficult. Each team also has an above average defense with the Eagles having the fifth-best scoring defense. San Francisco is allowing under 22 points per game on the season while the Eagles are holding their opponents to 18 points per game at home. Two teams with strong defenses and rushing attacks should make for a low scoring game.
It proved a good idea to wait on this one as the line has moved upwards from 3.5 to 6 throughout the week. The 49ers are no more banged up than they have been since mid-November when they uncorked a six-game win streak that almost netted home edge on the NFC side thru the playoffs, and late word has perennial All-Pro OT Trent Williams likely to go on Sunday. SF dealt as effectively as it could with key defensive injuries (Nick Bosa, Fred Warner in particular) this season. The Eagles repeated as NFC East champs almost by default, as neither the OL nor Saquon Barkley the same as year ago. Can Jalen Hurts outgun Brock Purdy, hot until hitting punishing Seattle last week? Play Niners
Even with the Philadelphia Eagles offensive struggles at times this season, DeVonta Smith still cleared over 1,000 receiving yards. One of the takeaways from last postseason was how much Smith and Jalen Hurts were on the same page. 16 of Smith’s 17 targets were completions for a 94 percent rate. Also over the last three seasons, Smith’s second most catches were against the 49ers with nine. Take Smith’s yardage over.
Saquon Barkley had a disappointing season overall, but he showed signs down the stretch. And he didn't play in Week 18 so he'll be super-fresh for this matchup. While Lane Johnson's status remains up in the air, this remains a strong matchup given San Francisco's litany of defensive injuries, especially at linebacker.
This number keeps drifting up, apparently in part because of the half-dozen "questionables" listed by San Fran. That is a concern, yet the Eagles’ offense has not been motoring enough to warrant this big of a spot. During the latter half of the season, it ranked among the least potent. And, among the banged-up 49ers, the most valuable among them -- OT Trent Williams -- is trending toward playing. The Niners' playoff legacy cannot be ignored. They reached the Super Bowl two seasons ago, losing to Kansas City in overtime, and the NFC finals each of the two previous years. They can certainly stay within a touchdown margin.
After resting last week, Saquon Barkley should be ready for a big workload. Getting back right tackle Lane Johnson should help too. On the year the 49ers have allowed 4.5 yards per rush, but that number ticked up to 4.6 without stud linebacker Fred Warner, and it has went haywire -- 5.2 without Warner AND impressive young backer Tatum Bethune. Neither of those guys will play. More importantly, the Niners have allowed a 9.6% explosive rush rate in their past four games, mostly with Bethune on the field, meaning they've given up a big run about once every 10 carries. I'd expect the Eagles to lean on Barkley as part of their game plan, which should mean a lot of rushing yards for him.
Hurts has thrown 30-plus times in seven games this year, with five being Philly losses including two blowout losses. That means in nine of the Eagles 11 wins, Hurts had not gone over this line. A lot of QBs have thrown a lot of passes against the Niners -- 11 to be exact, but eight of them came in 49ers wins. Last thing: Hurts has played in nine career playoff games. He's thrown 28 or fewer passes in six of them, all Eagles wins. If you think the Eagles will win, and if you think Saquon Barkley will have himself a nice game to take pressure off of Hurts, then this bet makes a lot of sense.
FanDuel. Saquon Barkley finished his regular season clearing this line in six of eight games. With standout tackle Lane Johnson expected to return for the Eagles, and a multitude of injuries to the 49ers front seven, I’m expecting a massive dose of Barkley in the Wild Card round. Across seven games against teams in the top 10 of team defense DVOA (per FTN Fantasy - Eagles rank seventh), the 49ers allowed an average of 25 running back rush attempts. I’d bet this up to 20+ totes for a partial unit.
San Francisco might get Trent Williams back, but the 49ers are severely banged-up at linebacker. That's not a good spot to be in against Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts. The Eagles rank fourth in explosive rushes. Philly's inconsistent offense should look great, especially with Lane Johnson expected back, against a 49ers defense that rarely pressures the passer and lacks healthy playmakers. Vic Fangio's defense is mostly healthy and should hold the 49ers in check.
The 49ers failure to steal the #1 seed forces them to head east, and play the Eagles in an outdoor road game. Totals above 44 played outdoors in the wild card round are 31-10 to the Under! This dynamic 49ers offense is not the same without their elite LT Trent Williams, whose hamstring injury may sideline him again. WR Ricky Pearsall is also dealing with an injury, who SF really need to stretch the field. The Eagles offense has been clunky all year, especially without their star RT Lane Johnson, who hasn't played since Week 11 and remains 'questionable'. Jalen Hurts will be forced to play conservatively against a zone-heavy SF defense. This game stays under the key number of 44.
Philly has not played its best ball all season long, but still finds a way to make it all work out. Defensively, the matchup here vs San Francisco is where they'll have the edge going up against a banged up unit. Conversely, they have the same advantage going up against a banged up 49ers defense as well. Eagles lock in and take care of business at home.
When this game first materialized, the immediate reactions were, "I'm hammering the OVER." That had me immediately considering the UNDER. We know SF's defense can be a problem but Robert Salah has them playing above their heads, with a great deal of energy. Let's not forget, they held Seattle to 13-points last week and forced four field goal attempts. Seattle's offense ranks much higher than Philadelphia's and the defense of Philly is very good. It feels like 49ers vs Eagles would mean points but the fact that the line opened at 46 says a lot - and it has since been bet down. Some wind is expected and note that since 2004, the UNDER is 49-23 (68%) in Wild Card games played outdoors.
The Eagles shouldn't have a ton of trouble moving the ball against this 49ers defense and I think their ability to extend drives will also extend the workload of Saquon Barkley. Barkley has hit this rush attempt total in each of his last four games, and with a week to rest and a healthier OLine, I suspect it'll be a lot of work for Barkley in the wild card round.
The injuries to the 49ers defense open up the potential for the Eagles offense to get on track with Lane Johnson expected to return. Starting with the game where Fred Warner was lost for the season, the 49ers have allowed multiple pass TDs in eight of 12 games, including to Cam Ward and Philip Rivers over the last month. Hurts has thrown multiple TDs in half his games and the Eagles' passing game weapons should be hard to stop for the 49ers. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if A.J. Brown scores twice on his own.
It looks like each team should have its star offensive lineman back for this game, and both offenses need those guys to have success. The Eagles are 18-28 without Lane Johnson in the lineup since he joined the team, while the 49ers offense was DOA against the Seahawks in Week 18. The Eagles could score twice in the first quarter against this beat-up 49ers defense, but I also trust Kyle Shanahan to scheme up a successful opening drive leading to points. Making this play instead of the full-game Over also protects us if either lineman suffers a reinjury after the first 15 minutes.
With Philadelphia only giving 3.5 points on the early line, this is my favorite spread play of the Wild Card games. This is a matchup between the two NFC teams who have played in the last three Super Bowls, but I don’t trust San Francisco’s defense to hold up against the Eagles’ receivers and Saquon Barkley on the ground. Also, I expect the Eagles' defense to make it a nightmare Sunday for Brock Purdy, who will be pressured into several key mistakes. San Francisco had potentially three straight home games in front of them with a win against Seattle in Week 18. Now, after an offensive dud against the Seahawks, their season ends in disappointment in the City of Brotherly Love. Eagles 27, 49ers 14.
