The Eagles host the 49ers in what now has to be seen as a must win game today at 1pm. The game will be shown on FOX, but only locally and they're not sending their A or B or probably even C crew for the game either. Ron Pitts and Jim Mora Jr will have the call and the game will only be shown in the Philadelphia market and in a large part of California. Merrill Reese and Mike Quick will have the radio call on 94.1 FM and 610-AM.
San Francisco does hold the edge in the historical series between these two (17-12-1), but the Eagles have dominated the matchup in recent years with five straight wins. Interestingly enough, the Eagles defense has been making the big plays against the 49ers in recent years having scored TDs in a three of the last four meetings between these two. Despite that, RB LeSean McCoy says the Eagles aren't taking the Niners lightly.
"They're a good defense [and] it starts off with that front. They play a 3-4 and their front plays very well. And the beast in the middle, [LB] Patrick Willis, which is everywhere, in the middle, outside, coverage. So he kind of makes that defense go. You have to kind of know where he's at [and] have a hat on him the entire game. And the secondary's pretty good. So with the speed we have we have to go out there, sort of run around a little bit, making some plays throwing and running the ball. And have them guessing. I think we can get back to that, having guys guessing, and I think we should be fine."
McCoy is currently leading the NFL in first downs (26), rushing TDs (4) and leads the NFC in rushing yards (345). He's a huge part of the reason the Eagles are leading the NFC in rushing by a fairly large margin. The 49ers are third most stingy team against the run so far this season, so this certainly looks like a strength vs strength matchup in that area.
A loss would put the Eagles at 1-3 with three defeats coming at the hands of NFC teams, putting a huge dent in their playoff hopes. A win evens them at 2-2, with the potential to be tied atop the NFC East.