In last week’s Divisional Round game, the Philadelphia Eagles destroyed their NFC East rival New York Giants, 38-7. Now, the team turns its attention to the 2023 NFC Championship and the San Francisco 49ers. The Eagles-49ers matchup features Philadelphia’s No. 1 scoring offense and No. 4 scoring defense in the NFC vs. San Francisco’s No. 1 scoring defense and No. 4 scoring offense in the conference. This matchup also features some of the biggest stars in the NFL, with Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, and Fletcher Cox on the Philly side and Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, and Joey Bosa on the other. All these stars will play a major role in determining the outcome of this NFC. Here is what you need to know about the Eagles' X-factor, starting with the fact it’s not Jalen Hurts.
Eagles X-Factor vs. 49ers: Haason Reddick
The 2023 NFL Championship game is a matchup that hardcore football fans will love. Sure, there are a lot of headline fantasy football names on both offenses but this is a game that will be won up front.
The Eagles and 49ers are two teams built from — and that excel in — the trenches.
The casual observers will say this is a matchup between Jalen Hurts, Miles Sanders, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert vs. the 49ers defense or Brock Purdy, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle, and Christian McCaffrey vs. the Eagles D.
However, that is simply not the case.
The Eagles-49ers tilt will come down to who dominates the line of scrimmage when the two teams line up. On one side, you have the Eagles offensive line (Jordan Mailata, Jason Kelce, Isaac Seumalo, Lane Johnson) vs. the 49ers defensive line (Samson Ebukam, Javon Kinlaw, Arik Armstead, Nick Bosa). On the other, you have the Eagles DL (Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, Josh Sweat) vs. the 49ers OL (Trent Williams, Aaron Banks, Jake Brendel, Spencer Burford, Mike McGlinchey).
The Eagles X-factor in this game, though, is the fifth player who specializes in coming after the quarterback, linebacker Haason Reddick.
Reddick was a first-round pick (No. 13) out of Temple in 2017. The linebacker initially struggled with the inside role his new team tried to put him in, which led to the Arizona Cardinals declining his fifth-year option ahead of the 2020 season. Reddick then broke out during his last year in the desert and signed a one-year deal with the Carolina Panthers for 2021. After posting his second-consecutive double-digit sack season (12. 5 in 2020, 11.0 in 2021) with the Panthers, he signed a three-year deal this offseason with the Eagles.
Adding a pass-rusher like Reddick to the Eagles' already stout defense is one of the factors in the Eagles becoming the class of the NFC this season. The 6-foot-1, 235-pound pass-rusher had a career season in 2022. He had a personal best 16.0 sacks (T-2 in the NFL) and led the league in forced fumbles with five. He also added 49 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss, three fumble recoveries, and three passes defended just for good measure.
All that was good enough for Reddick’s first Pro Bowl nomination and a second-team All-Pro selection.
In the Eagles-49ers NFC Championship game, Reddick is the Eagles' X-factor because the last two 49ers playoff games showed that rookie seventh-round pick Brock Purdy is susceptible to pressure.
The Seattle Seahawks got Purdy off his spot early, and the youngster struggled early in the 49ers’ Wild Card matchup. In the Divisional Round against the Cowboys, the pressure was even more intense. DeMarcus Lawrence and company only managed two sacks on the San Francisco signal-caller, but they hit him eight times. This led to a 19-of-29 for 214-yard performance from Purdy.
In the NFC Championship game, pressure will again be the name of the game.
If Reddick can get Purdy off his spot, make him get rid of the ball quicker than he wants to, or best of all, sack or even strip-sack the young QB, that will make the difference in this game. If the 49ers O-line can neutralize Reddick and allow Purdy a clean pocket to work from, then the 49ers have the advantage in this matchup.
Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon will line Reddick up in different positions in different formations to test each spot on the 49ers line. If Reddick and Gannon can find a weak spot, they could exploit that and give Philadelphia a major advantage on defense.
Either way, Eagles X-factor Haason Reddick will have a major impact on this game, whether it is for showing up all across the stat sheet or by his conspicuous absence.
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