With 49ers’ Trent Williams, Ricky Pearsall not practicing, could they play vs. Eagles? (paywall) “Perhaps even more surprising was the inactivity of Pearsall, listed as a limited practice participant all of last week. Shanahan said he did not aggravate the injured posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, which has sidelined him for eight games this season, during practices last week. Pearsall is apparently still dealing with the aggravation he suffered against the Bears, which he played through
to finish with five catches for 85 yards.”
Can Shanahan’s 49ers beat his history vs. Fangio defenses in Eagles wild-card matchup? (paywall)
“In the spring of 2022, when Vic Fangio was a season removed from being fired as the Broncos head coach and Kyle Shanahan was thinking about his staff for the next season, the San Francisco 49ers head coach hosted Fangio for several offseason practices in Santa Clara.
Fangio was taking a year off from coaching. And Shanahan was correctly anticipating that his defensive coordinator, DeMeco Ryans, would land a head-coaching job after the 2022 season. That made Fangio’s practice visits, in effect, recruiting visits: Shanahan wanted to make the long-decorated coordinator who was often in the Bay Area to visit his girlfriend the next overseer of his defense.
“I wanted to be prepared,” Shanahan said. “And Vic and I were talking about that stuff a lot and hoping that could possibly work out if we did change or get a new coordinator. But I remember the day — the morning of our (NFC Championship Game) versus (the Eagles) — he signed with Miami.”…Brendel knows from first-hand experience after he spent more than four months with the Broncos in the 2019 offseason when Fangio was Denver’s head coach. Brendel said Fangio’s brilliance is in his ability to exploit offensive weaknesses and adjust his scheme on a game-to-game basis.
“He’ll look at everything possible to study on an offense, and he’ll look at every possible reason why your offense didn’t work or it did work,” Brendel said. “And then he’ll try to (tailor) his play-calling and his scheme that week based on that … Playing him, you’ve got to be ready for everything because he really can give you a Rolodex of stuff.”
After Christian McCaffrey’s historic workload, can 49ers expect his best vs. Eagles? (paywall)
“McCaffrey is 29. And at 5-11 and 210, he might be the smallest high-touches guy in recent league history, slightly smaller than another three-time touches leader, LaDainian Tomlinson.
The case could be made with stats that McCaffrey is wearing down as the season progresses. In the loss Saturday to the Seahawks, he carried eight times for 23 yards and caught six passes for 34 yards, his lowest total yardage game of the season.
And there was the Bobble, when a Brock Purdy pass deflected at the line of scrimmage bounced out of McCaffrey’s hands and into the hands of a defender, a deal-sealing interception for the Seahawks.
McCaffrey, typically, took full blame. Even though he had to reach low and behind him to get his hands on the ball. Even though in his nine-season career, McCaffrey has lost only five fumbles, none this year.
Seems fair to give McCaffrey a pass on that bobble, but it’s clear that for the 49ers to beat the Eagles, they’ll need him to be his vintage self. Against Seattle he had just 14 touches, well below his season average of 24.3. That was partly because the Seahawks hogged the ball and the clock.
Also worth noting: His three poorest games this year, in yards per touch, came in the final five games.“
Bucky Brooks: Why the Eagles are the 49ers’ best playoff matchup
“”This is probably the best matchup the Niners could have, because offensively, the Philadelphia Eagles, for lack of a better word, have been yuck,” Brooks said. “They’ve been terrible on offense. They’re bad to watch. They’re not exciting. I mean, this offense is—I watched them play against the Bills a couple weeks ago, and I think they had 19 yards in the second half. They cannot move the football.”
“So, if you’re the Niners and you think about, ‘Man, if we can just somehow run out to a 14-point lead,’ do the Eagles have enough to get back in it?” Brooks said. “Whether it’s [QB] Jalen Hurts throwing, [WR] A.J. Brown, [WR] DeVonta Smith, whoever they have on the perimeter—[RB] Saquon Barkley hasn’t been the same—they are not a group that is together. And that lack of chemistry and cohesion could come back to bite them.”
Kyle Shanahan previews 49ers-Eagles Wild Card matchup
“I think WR Jacob Cowing’s going practice today. Obviously, you guys liked him in the Draft process. He had two good college stints. What do you like about him and is there any chance he could go this week or is that all for next year?
“Yeah, I doubt it. We really like Jake. We liked what we drafted and we loved what we got from him last year when he was available. But, he got hurt the first day of training camp and really hasn’t been able to string together many days since then. So, we’ve got him for three weeks so I’d say there’s a chance to get him back in and see what happens over these three weeks. But, for a guy to not have any practice throughout camp or this regular season, I think it’d be a little unrealistic for this week.”
49ers find Spencer Burford replacement in 2026 NFL mock draft
“Penn State offensive lineman Olaivavega Ioane (6-4, 323) posted strong grades from Pro Football Focus during the 2025 season, including a 79.4 overall offensive grade, a 77.9 run-blocking grade, and an 87.3 pass-blocking grade. He allowed just four total pressures and zero sacks across 310 pass-blocking snaps, with his last allowed sack coming in 2023.
