We could have an NFC championship preview on our hands on Sunday when the Philadelphia Eagles host the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL's marquee matchup of Week 13. The Eagles easily handled the 49ers at home to clinch a Super Bowl berth in last season's NFC championship game, but San Francisco's quarterback situation gave it almost no chance.
You probably know the series of events by now. Brock Purdy, the Niners' third-string QB to start the 2022 season, took over the starting duties and helped San Francisco into the playoffs. An elbow injury he suffered against the Eagles in the NFC championship game meant he couldn’t throw. The 49ers were forced to run the ball the entire second half after backup Josh Johnson was ruled out with a concussion, with Purdy returning under center for the rest of the 31-7 Eagles win.
Just over 10 months later, the 8-3 49ers are favored on the road against the 10-1 Eagles, who are seeking their sixth straight win as they march toward another NFC East title and the No. 1 seed in the NFC for a second consecutive season.
It's a rare place for Jalen Hurts and crew to be, but Philadelphia has long embraced an underdog mentality. There's no reason to believe that won’t happen again on Sunday in what could be the best regular season game of the 2023 NFL season. That being said, let's get to our Eagles Week 13 predictions.
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Haason Reddick wreaks havoc on 49ers O-line
There are few defensive players in the NFL as skilled as Haason Reddick, though the Eagles' star edge-rusher has flown under the radar a bit this season. His stats are still impressive – 8.5 sacks, 16 QB hits and 25 combined tackles in 11 games – but Reddick hasn’t quite had the same impact on games as he did during his 16-sack campaign in 2022.
Reddick has turned things up over the last few weeks though and is starting to look like the world-beating defender he was last season. He has a sack in three of his last four games and eight QB hits in that span.
In last year's NFC championship game, Reddick was arguably Philadelphia's best player. He recorded a pair of sacks and constantly put pressure on the 49ers offensive line. Had it not been for the injuries at quarterback for San Francisco, Reddick might have had another sack or two.
Expect more of the same from the second-team All-Pro in the rematch on Sunday. Philadelphia will no doubt be up for this game with some extra motivation and that typically leads to the best players on the team performing at their highest level.
Haason Reddick will again have a multi-sack game for the Eagles against the 49ers.
Jake Elliott comes up clutch again for Eagles
Is there a kicker on the planet more clutch than Jake Elliott right now? Against all odds, the Eagles kicker drilled a 59-yard field goal in nasty weather to send Philly's eventual Week 12 triumph over the Buffalo Bills to overtime last Sunday.
Elliott is now 6-for-7 on 50+ yard field goals this season and has made all but three of his kicks, including extra points.
The Eagles released a video of head coach Nick Sirianni telling Elliott the team will need his “clutch gene” against the Bills and he was proven right. The same can be said for Philadelphia's Week 13 tilt.
Points might be hard to come by at times for the Eagles against a stout 49ers defense, but getting to the opposing 40-yard line is enough for Philly to trot Elliott out there. Though the Eagles are one of the most aggressive teams in the league when it comes to going for it on 4th down, having a kicker as hot and confident as Jake Elliott might change that game plan slightly on Sunday.
All signs point to this game being decided on the final possession and wouldn’t the Eagles love to put the game on Elliott's foot if they had to? The Eagles kicker will bury another long field goal late in this game to help Philly secure a victory.
AJ Brown & Devonta Smith combine for over 200 yards receiving
Things have been a little too quiet for AJ Brown over the last few weeks. It was unfair to expect the Eagles' No. 1 target to continue his NFL record streak of at least 125 receiving yards in six consecutive games, but his numbers have gone way down in the three games since the streak.
After a 66-yard outing in Week 9, Brown combined for 45 receiving yards over the last two games and was targeted a season-low four times in a Week 11 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Brown has still been involved in the offense, scoring a touchdown in two of those three games previously mentioned. A third consecutive game below 50 yards doesn’t seem possible from a player of his caliber though and Eagles QB Jalen Hurts could make it a priority to get him involved early and often.
As for Devonta Smith, the third-year Eagle has kicked it up a notch across the last four games. During that span, Smith caught 23 of his 26 targets for 355 yards and three touchdowns. 205 of those yards came in the last two weeks with Smith recording his second 100-yard performance of the season last Sunday.
Though the duo is spectacular in their own ways, the Eagles have yet to truly be able to get them both going consistently. Brown and Smith have only two games in which they've each topped 70 yards, something they did five times last season.
The Eagles will need all hands on deck to nab their 11th win of the season and put a stranglehold on the top seed in the NFC. Though the 49ers passing defense has been solid, it hasn’t faced a duo like AJ Brown and Devonta Smith.
As mentioned, a team's best players usually step up in the biggest moments. Brown and Smith are a nightmare for opposing secondaries when they're at their peak. Against the 49ers, they'll be just that, combining for over 200 receiving yards as Hurts looks their way all night.
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