Is it Sunday yet? As we all await the Eagles squaring off with the 49ers in South Philadelphia, I’ll answer some questions from Birds fans in a new mailbag.
Let’s get after it…
@sean_foley (Instagram): Will Tank Bigsby get a steady set of carries after an impressive game against the Commanders
He better!
The Eagles’ offensive line has been in shambles this season after perennially being the team’s biggest strength for roughly a quarter of a century. Between injuries, regression and flat-out poor play, that simply hasn’t been the case as of late. It’s caused Saquon Barkley, after a historic, world-dominating performance last year, to look human.
The Eagles will want to ride Barkley as they did last postseason, but Bigsby has earned a right to see a half-dozen carries per game. No shade to the 2024 Offensive Player of the Year, but Bigsby just looks more explosive than Barkley right now. Barkley should remain the Birds’ main guy in the run game, but why not mix it up? Doug Pederson’s squad expertly did that in the run to the 2017 Super Bowl, using all of LeGarrette Blount, Jay Ajayi and even Corey Clement to immense success.
A little thunder and lightning never hurt…
@crooks1021 (Instagram): Who is the most important defensive player on Sunday?
Zack Baun, perhaps the greatest buy-low free agent signing in franchise history last offseason, needs to have the game of his life on Sunday. Baun, in conjunction with the Eagles’ talented linebacker group, will be tasked with slowing down Christian McCaffrey as both a rusher and a receiver. He is the key to this San Francisco offense.
If I had to rank a top five in terms of the most important Eagles defenders for this matchup, I’d go:
- Zack Baun
- Jordan Davis
- Jalen Carter
- Nakobe Dean (if healthy and playing)
- Jalyx Hunt
@crooks1021 (Instagram): Would you rather have Trent Williams or Christian McCaffrey inactive?
Great question!
Williams has a Lane Johnson-like impact for the 49ers, but downgrading from McCaffrey to Brian Robinson Jr. in the San Francisco backfield would scream an easy Eagles win.
@crooks1021 (Instagram): Will the Eagles score 24+ against a putrid Niners defense?
My heart says the Eagles will finally put it all together and pump out 30 points in a landslide victory that sees the Birds’ defense shutting down Brock Purdy and co.
My head says this will be the most disgusting 13-6 win in the history of organized football.
I love this!
Looking back at something before my time, the 1981 squad was quite excellent. On the heels of losing in Super Bowl XV to the Raiders, the Eagles were first in both yards and points defensively. They totaled 2,509 yards on the ground too, the fourth most in the league, highlighted by Wilbert Montgomery’s 1,402 yards.
They started 6-0, but crashed down to Earth, finishing 10-6 and losing in the Wild Card Round to the Giants. So much for a march back to the Super Bowl for revenge, huh?
For a season I witnessed with my own two eyes, I maintain that the 2002 Eagles were the best team of the Andy Reid era. Sure, 2004 receives all the fanfare given the splashy arrival of Terrell Owens and how much fun that was, but 2002 was The Year! The Eagles were fourth in scoring offense and second in scoring defense, even surviving a midseason Donovan McNabb injury along the way!
It’s coulda/woulda/shoulda coping, but 2002 was the perfect storm to win the franchise’s first Super Bowl. It was the one year from that period that the Patriots missed the playoffs and wouldn’t be representing the AFC in the Big Game. That 2002 NFC title game between the Eagles and Tampa Bay, that fateful final day at Veterans Stadium, truly decided the champion for that season.
I’m thankful I’ve seen two Super Bowl parades since then, as that game no longer haunts me as it once did, looking back on it more as a character-building loss, but it does sting the more I write about it!
See More:
