Why the 49ers need this one player to play against the Eagles

It's hard to see the 49ers winning this game without this player.

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The 49ers have the right coaches to pull off the upset in Philadelphia this weekend, but they might not have the right players.

It seems that Trent Williams will return after missing the past two games with a pulled hamstring. Williams practiced with the team on Thursday, which most likely indicates that he intends to play on Sunday. Hard to see him sitting out of a playoff game at his age when he's healthy enough to practice.

That's the good news. The not-so-good news is that Ricky Pearsall's status is much more in question. He reaggravated his PCL injury two weeks ago when the 49ers beat the Bears, then he was a limited participant in practice last week before the 49ers made him a late scratch for the Seahawks game, and this week he didn't practice on Wednesday or Thursday. Instead, he jogged on a side field.

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Pearsall hasn't had a great season by any stretch of the imagination -- he has 36 catches for 528 yards and no touchdowns, and he played in only 9 of the 49ers' 17 regular-season games. That's disappointing from the former first-round pick.

And yet, when Pearsall played, even if he didn't play well, the 49ers' record was 8-1. When he didn't play, their record was 4-4. That's how big of an impact his mere presence on the field has.

Pearsall is the only wide receiver on the team who can stretch the field. The other starter, Jauan Jennings, runs like a tight end -- that's how slow he is. So when Pearsall is out, the entire field gets compressed for the 49ers' offense.

Suddenly, the safeties play closer to the line of scrimmage, so there's less room to run. In addition, there's less space for George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey to pick up yards after the catch, as we saw against the Seahawks.

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You have to remember, the 49ers' starting wide receivers this season were supposed to be Pearsall and Brandon Aiyuk. That's why they traded Deebo Samuel. They thought they had two explosive wide receivers and didn't need him anymore.

If Pearsall doesn't play on Sunday or plays and is compromised by injuries, then the 49ers will have zero explosive wide receivers, and their odds of beating the Eagles will be low. And at this point in the season, it's probably unrealistic to expect Pearsall to step up and play like a Pro Bowler, considering he's playing through a serious injury.

Too bad the 49ers torched their relationship with Brandon Aiyuk. They could really use him this week.