The San Francisco 49ers are set to take on the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field in a wild-card showdown that will see the winner advance to the divisional round.
With San Francisco’s defense running thin due to injuries, Kyle Shanahan’s offense will need to step up and really show out if the 49ers want to keep their season alive.
This year, Shanahan’s offense has been strong, averaging the seventh-most yards per game (351.4) and the 10th-most points per game (25.7). However, going up against Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio hasn’t proved to be an easy take for Shanahan.
The two have faced off four times in the past, with the most recent coming in 2018. In those four matchups, Shanahan’s offenses have never scored more than 15 points and have scored fewer than 10 points twice (per NBC Sports’ Matt Maiocco).
Only two of those games have come since Shanahan became the head coach of the 49ers in 2017, and his quarterbacks for the contests were Jimmy Garoppolo and Nick Mullens, who aren’t exactly the quarterback the Brock Purdy has proven to be in recent years.
San Francisco will hopefully get left tackle Trent Williams and wide receiver Ricky Pearsall back for Sunday’s battle, which should help things after the 49ers put up just three points against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 18.
They’ll need to play much better if they want to take out the defending Super Bowl champions and move on to the divisional round.
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This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: Why Kyle Shanahan could be a problem for 49ers vs. Eagles
Reporting by Mike Masala, Niners Wire / Niners Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
