The San Francisco 49ers are facing off against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday with a chance to advance in the playoffs, but they’ll have to do so on the road at Lincoln Financial Field.
Saturday’s playoff slate saw two thrilling games, with the Los Angeles Rams edging past the Carolina Panthers 34-31 with a game-winning touchdown drive and the Chicago Bears doing the same to the Green Bay Packers in a 31-27 win.
With those results, the 49ers are the lowest-remaining seed in the NFC and will play the Seattle Seahawks on the road next weekend in the divisional round if they can beat the Eagles. Interestingly enough, this same scenario could’ve played out if San Francisco beat Seattle in Week 18, but evidently at Levi’s Stadium instead of Lumen Field.
If the Eagles win, however, the Rams would be the lowest-remaining seed in the NFC and would therefore head to Seattle in the divisional round, while Philadelphia and Chicago would play each other at Soldier Field.
The 49ers split the season series with Seattle, winning 17-10 all the way back in Week 1 before getting beaten 13-3 in the final week of the regular season. In that last loss, San Francisco’s offense was just suffocated, managing only 173 total yards as they couldn’t run the ball on early downs and get any chunk plays in the air.
That game was played without left tackle Trent Williams, who has been instrumental for the 49ers’ run game improvements in the second half of the year, and Ricky Pearsall, San Francisco’s No. 1 wide receiver. But it also didn’t look nearly as close as the score showed, with the Seahawks missing two field goals and going 0-for-3 on touchdowns in the red zone.
On Sunday, Williams is trending to play against the Eagles, while Pearsall is questionable after not practicing for a second straight week. Their challenge with Philadelphia will be quite tough, with the 49ers being six-point road underdogs heading into kickoff.
If they can somehow manage to get the win, though, they’ll have a seventh NFC West game this year and a third against the Seahawks as they look to continue their improbable season.
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