Behind Enemy Lines with an Eagles Insider

Face it -- we in the Bay Area know much more about the 49ers than the Eagles.

So to learn more about the 49ers' upcoming opponent, I asked my colleague Ed Kracz, publisher of Eagles Today for SI FanNation, five questions about the team he covers.

Here are my questions and his answers:

ME: How is Jalen Hurts' shoulder injury affecting his play if at all?

KRACZ: It certainly didn’t look like it was an issue in the divisional round last weekend. There were no game-plan restrictions for him.

He checked a couple of boxes early:

On the second play of the game, he threw a nice deep ball to DeVonta Smith for a 40-yard gain.

Check.

Not long after that, he took off on a designed run in the red zone and, after picking up a few yards, took an upper body shot from a couple of Giants defenders and bounced right back.

Check.

On Friday, Nick Sirianni said that Hurts has been “ripping it” during practice this week and that there haven’t been any limitations put on him, though he continues to get treatment.

ME: How has A.J. Brown changed the Eagles offense from the one the 49ers faced last season?

KRACZ: A lot. A whole lot.

Not only has he helped Jalen Hurts but also DeVonta Smith.

Smith would have been double-teamed a heckuva lot more without the presence of another bonafide No. 1 receiver on the other side.

As for Hurts, he and Brown are very good friends off the field, so their chemistry was instant, and that was reflected in the 1,496 receiving yards, which broke a franchise record for most yards in a single season that Mike Quick set in 1983, and his 11 touchdowns tied his career-high.

ME: What is the Eagles defense's weaknesses?

KRACZ: They are willing to give up the underneath stuff, so if a team is disciplined and patient, and can play mistake-free on drives, you can methodically move the ball down the field on them. It’s a philosophy that has worked well for the Eagles because they are usually able to get early leads and are willing to let a team take time off the clock to try to come back.

ME: What is Nick Sirianni like as a head coach in big games under pressure?

KRACZ: Tough to tell because he’s only been in two playoff games, where he lost in a blowout against Tampa Bay in his first season and then thumped the Giants last week.

He is a tireless worker in mocking various situations that he runs through with his team and has been very good in tight games during the regular season.

This season’s 17-16 win over the Colts is one that comes to mind. They trailed 13-3 heading into the final quarter but scored two touchdowns in the final quarter.

ME: Who wins and why?

KRACZ: This looks like such a great matchup on paper, with both teams having great players up and down the roster.

I saw someone on social media this week say that you could put a team of Pro Bowl players from both these teams and pick a Pro Bowl roster from the other 30 teams the one with Eagles and 49ers players would probably win.

Experience might favor San Fran, this being, after all, their third trip to the championship game in the last four years, but the Eagles have several key veterans who won a Super Bowl five years ago that are terrific leaders in Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, Fletcher Cox, and Brandon Graham. All four have been with this organization for 10-plus years.

So, that negates a bit of that experience, in my opinion.

When things are this tight matchup-wise, I look at the quarterback, and whoever is the best QB is the one I take. In this case, it’s Jalen Hurts.

The guy was an MVP candidate all season.

Brock Purdy has been a great story and could maybe become an MVP candidate at some point, but it’s hard to see him coming into a hostile environment with 70,000 fans in his ears and aggressive defense, with 75 sacks this season, in his face and finding a way to win.

History is against him as well, with four other rookie QBs starting title games and coming away with losses - Shaun King, Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Flacco, and Mark Sanchez.

Also, the 49ers can’t let the Eagles get too far ahead.

If so, it will be lights out. I don't think they will and think it will be a closely played game throughout.

I’m going with the home team, though.

EAGLES 24, 49ERS 20

To read my answer's to Ed's quetions about the 49ers, click here.