The Philadelphia Eagles NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers is the game that the vast majority of fans were hoping for. The Eagles and 49ers were by far the most impressive in the conference all season. The Eagles jumped out to a 13-1 start, all but locking up home-field advantage earlier than usual.

Meanwhile, the 49ers are the hottest team in the NFL. They won their final 10 regular season games before beating the Seattle Seahawks and the Dallas Cowboys to extend that streak to 12 games. Rookie quarterback and ‘Mr. Irrelevant,' Brock Purdy, has continued to impress during the stretch, winning all seven of his starts.

The Eagles will play in front of their home crowd, which is likely the difference as to why they are 2.5 point favorites according to FanDuel. The atmosphere is certain to be electric, as Philadelphia looks to get back to the Super Bowl just a handful of years after winning their first championship against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots back in 2018.

But this game is going to be far from easy. Here are the three issues that could spell disaster for the Eagles against the 49ers in the NFC Championship.

3. Miles Sanders, Eagles unable to run the football effectively

The Philadelphia Eagles were one of the best rushing football teams in the NFL this year. They finished the regular ranked fifth in rushing, averaging over 147 yards per game on the ground. Obviously part of that was due to the success that QB Jalen Hurts had getting outside from the pocket.

But it was Miles Sanders that offered the consistent production from the Eagles backfield. He rushed for a career high 1,269 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. That ranked fifth and eighth respectively across the league.

Despite the stellar season, there was a noticeable trend in the Eagles losses. Sanders struggled to do much on the ground in each game. Back in their Week 10 loss to the Washington Commanders, Sanders rushed for just 54 yards on 12 carries. The following week, he posted a season-low 47 yards in a miraculous comeback victory against the lowly Indianapolis Colts.

The other two losses down the stretch saw Sanders rush for 126 yards combined. That in turn put more pressure on Hurts to become more of a pocket passer.

No one is denying that Hurts' emergence this year is truly astounding. He has become one of the league's best playmakers and is an MVP candidate this year. But we have seen a similar story with Lamar Jackson. When the Eagles are running the football effectively, he's been able to find AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith on play action passes. But if Hurts is asked to consistently make accurate throws against a good defense from the pocket, he has not proven he can do that just yet.

Philadelphia needs to establish some sort of a running game vs. the 49ers.

2. Philadelphia Eagles turn the ball over

The Eagles began the season 8-0. It's not a coincidence that they were crushing people on turnover differential. They had only turned the ball over three times during that span. But things took a turn midway through the season and most people did not notice. I am not one of those people.

During the second half of the season, Philadelphia turned the ball over 15 times, ranking in the bottom third of the league. That coincided with all three of their losses and what easily could have been a couple more.

The 49ers defense is probably the only one in the league that matches up player for player to Philly's. They have an All-Pro at each level. Talanoa Hufanga is one of the best safeties in all the NFL. Fred Warner might be the best linebacker in the league and Nick Bosa is likely going to win the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award.

The Eagles must do a better job at protecting the football. San Francisco is yet to lose a game this season when they win the turnover ratio. That could prove costly if Philly is careless with the ball Sunday.

3. 49ers get Christian McCaffrey, Elijah Mitchell going

Last week was the first time in the Brock Purdy era that we saw him turn into a game manager. Through his first six NFL starts, he wasn't just managing the game, but improved their offense. Purdy is mobile, accurate and intelligent. But the Cowboys defense gave him a lot of problems last week.

The Eagles are going to try and do the same in the NFC Championship. That will be made much easier if they can limit the 49ers ground game. If they can hold Christian McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell in check, the play action pass game is far less likely to succeed.

The Eagles have a good enough secondary that can cover Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. But if they are forced to pay attention to what's happening in the backfield, that could cause serious problems. That is why it is imperative Philadelphia does not let San Fran get going on the ground. They need force Purdy to beat them.

If they do that, and they do not turn the ball over, they will win this game.