Each week, I dive into the film of the Eagles’ upcoming opponent to get a feel for who they really are. Think of it less as a stats preview and more as an overview of what shows up repeatedly on film, and what the Eagles will be facing.
This is where the matchup tilts strongly in the Philadelphia Eagles’ favor. The San Francisco 49ers’ defense has been wrecked by injuries, errors in the secondary, and missed tackles. For an Eagles offense searching for consistency, this is a prime opportunity to get rolling.
Pass Defense
Structurally, the 49ers want to live in zone, keep eyes on the quarterback, and rally to the football. On film, those principles are undermined by hesitation and spacing issues. Safeties are often late rotating, linebackers struggle to carry routes, and passing off crossers has been a recurring issue. I didn’t see a lot of good communication in the secondary.
I couldn’t quite believe how many coverage busts I saw when studying the touchdowns they had given up this year. I know they’ve had injuries, but still!
Considering how many coverage busts they have, it’s a pretty basic scheme, too. They often start in a two-high shell, but rotate to single-high a lot. The Eagles should be able to take some vertical shots against this defense when they play Cover 3 or Cover 1. The outside cornerbacks aren’t talented enough to consistently win one-on-one.
The most damning issue is the lack of pressure and turnovers. San Francisco ranks last in the NFL in sacks with just 20 and 29th in interceptions with only six. They simply do not affect quarterbacks without blitzing, and even when they send extra rushers, the pressure often arrives late. This forces the secondary to hold up far longer than it can consistently do so. San Francisco’s inability to generate pressure with four rushers is a huge issue because they do not want to blitz a lot.
When rushing four, the 49ers rank 28th in the NFL in pressure rate, and that lack of disruption shows up everywhere on film. In theory, this is a defense built to rush four and protect the backend; in reality, when the four-man rush doesn’t get home, the single-high structure leaves little margin for error. There is no longer a dominant pass rusher on this roster. Bryce Huff is the only decent pass rusher they have, and I’d be surprised if he gets past the Eagles’ offensive tackles. This should be a game where Jalen Hurts is kept clean.
Another recurring theme on film is how many missed tackles this defense makes. They miss a ton of tackles, which makes them very susceptible to quick throws to the flat. Teams have had a lot of success running RPOs against them.
Run Defense
The run defense has been bad, which isn’t a surprise considering the injuries at linebacker and the defensive line. They struggle to control gaps, backup linebackers take poor angles, and the secondary isn’t good enough coming downhill to help out.
Once runners reach the second level, there is very little resistance. I would expect the Eagles to have a few explosive runs in this one. If Bryce Huff is out there on early downs, try to run outside him. He really struggles to set the edge. In fact, they struggle to set the edge consistently, regardless of whether Huff is there or not.
They want to play split-safety pre-snap, which makes the run defense a huge issue. When the 49ers cannot stop the run on early downs, they lose the ability to dictate coverages. Their light boxes get punished, and heavier looks expose slow linebackers in coverage.
Final Thoughts
This is a defense the Eagles have to exploit. The lack of pressure, lack of turnovers, and breakdowns in both run fits and coverage communication make this a get-right opportunity.
The talent disparity here is real, and the film should reflect it. Against a defense that struggles to win individual matchups and relies heavily on structure to survive, the Eagles should be able to dictate terms and have success this week. If they don’t, I’ll be concerned moving forward.
Thank you for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to comment below and ask any questions. If you enjoyed this piece, you can find more of my work and podcast here. If you would like to support me further, please check out my Patreon here!
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