Eagles-49ers: Lineups, injuries and what you need to know (2024)

After a convincing season-opening victory, the Eagles host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the Philadelphia debuts for Nick Sirianni as head coach and Jalen Hurts as the full-time starting quarterback. The Eagles are three-point underdogs to the 1-0 49ers. Here’s what you need to know:

Injuries/lineup decisions

The Eagles’ early run of good health will continue into Week 2, when safety Rodney McLeod is the only player on the 53-man roster who has been declared out. McLeod is still recovering from last season’s torn ACL. There’s intrigue about how the Eagles will look at safety because Marcus Epps, who started in place of McLeod last week, is questionable. Epps has been in the concussion protocol. The Eagles are hoping he’s cleared by Saturday. K’Von Wallace, who replaced Epps last week, is the likely starter if Epps doesn’t play or doesn’t take on the same workload because of his uncertain status. The Eagles can promote Elijah Riley from the practice squad for Sunday’s game if they’re looking for more safety depth.

The Eagles’ clean bill of health other than the safeties extends to offensive lineman Landon Dickerson, who has no injury status entering Week 2. Dickerson tore his ACL in the SEC championship game in December. He did not participate in training camp and missed Week 1, but he’s healthy enough to play this weekend. That means Dickerson, the Eagles’ second-round pick, missed only one game because of his college injury. Sirianni wouldn’t reveal whether the Eagles have a game-day role for Dickerson. Assuming Dickerson is active, the Eagles would likely make Andre Dillard, Nate Herbig or Brett Toth a healthy scratch.

One intriguing decision the Eagles have when determining inactives is whether to dress second-year linebacker Davion Taylor, who does not have an injury designation after he was questionable and absent for Week 1. Taylor, the Eagles’ 2020 third-round pick, would be a healthy scratch if he doesn’t play. If he plays, he should have a role on special teams and as a depth linebacker.

Zach Ertz (hamstring), Brandon Brooks (knee) and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (ankle) are all set to play despite missing practice Wednesday.

The 49ers’ injury report is more crowded. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw is out. Cornerback Emmanuel Mosley (knee) is doubtful and defensive end Arik Armstead (adductor), defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw (knee) and linebacker Marcell Harris (oblique) are all questionable. The 49ers lost cornerback Jason Verrett and running back Raheem Mostert to season-ending injuries in Week 1.

Eagles offense vs. 49ers defense

Last week:The Niners won 41-33 (sound familiar?), though the game wasn’t really as close as that eight-point spread. Trey Lance had a four-snap cameo that included a touchdown pass, but it was still Jimmy Garoppolo’s offense. The veteran threw for 314 yards on 12.6 yards per attempt against a … not great Lions defense. Deebo Samuel led the way with 189 yards receiving on nine catches including a 79-yard touchdown. Mostert suffered a season-ending injury, but no matter for Shanahan’s rushing attack as sixth-round rookie Elijah Mitchell stepped in with 104 yards rushing on 19 carries.

FromThe Playbook

Sheil Kapadia writes: “With Garoppolo, the 49ers have gone 22-8 over the past four seasons. We can also isolate just the offensive performance. With Garoppolo, the 49ers’ performance has translated into the fourth-ranked offense since 2017 in terms of EPA per play. Without him, it translates to the 27th-ranked offense. … Shanahan also has a track record of knowing how to help his quarterbacks. … Garoppolo had the NFL’s highest expected completion percentage last season. In other words, no quarterback was making easier throws.”

What to watch:The 49ers’ secondary is already in disarray one game into the season after the injury to Jason Verrett. Emmanuel Moseley has not practiced this week and if he doesn’t play, the Niners will start a fifth-round rookie in Deommodore Lenoir and an aging veteran retread on the other side — likely either Josh Norman or Dre Kirkpatrick. The Eagles neglected to take any shots downfield to their receivers against Atlanta (for good reason), but it’s fair to think they’ll try to spring Quez Watkins, Jalen Reagor or DeVonta Smith loose for a big play on Sunday. Up front, Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead will provide a tougher test than what the Eagles offensive line faced against Atlanta. And as ever, keep an eye on Hurts’ running ability. Kyler Murray ran for 75 and 91 yards in his two games against the 49ers last season (one win and one loss).

49ers offense vs. Eagles defense

Last week:The Niners defense let the Lions rally late, surrendering a pair of late touchdowns. The Lions wide receivers are probably the worst in the league, so maybe it’s no surprise that their three leading receivers were a tight end and two running backs, but maybe that means an opportunity for a big game for Dallas Goedert, Zach Ertz or one of the Eagles’ running backs in the passing game.

FromThe Playbook

Sheil Kapadia writes: “Fred Warner is one of the NFL’s best all-around linebackers and a big reason why the 49ers ranked third in DVOA against tight ends last season. … The 49ers played a mix of man and zone coverages last season. They were excellent in man. No defense saw a bigger drop-off going from man to zone than San Francisco.”

What to watch:All that eye candy. Will Jonathan Gannon continue to rotate his linebackers so aggressively against an offense with as many moving parts as the 49ers have? Few teams play with 11 personnel less than the 49ers, so will Alex Singleton and Eric Wilson be back in the base defense, or will they remain solely the nickel linebackers as they were in the second half against Atlanta? What new wrinkles will we see from Gannon as they try to maintain last week’s success in stifling big plays? And can Derek Barnett dominate Trent Williams again as he did in last year’s prime-time matchup?

Bird lines for Week 2

Jalen Hurts rushing attempts vs. Trey Lance snaps

Wulf:Good line, Zach. I’ll take Hurts rushing attempts because I think there’s a lot more in the designed quarterback run game than we saw last week.

Berman:The Eagles might have more designed runs, but I expect more Lance packages from the 49ers. Give me Lance.

George Kittle targets vs. Dallas Goedert and Zach Ertz combined receptions

Wulf:Kittle was targeted a season-high 15 times against the Eagles last season and caught all 15 passes for 183 yards in a losing effort. I don’t think the Niners will throw as much this week as they did last year, but I’ll still take Kittle under the presumption that the Eagles passing game is more wide receiver-heavy this week.

Berman:The Eagles know the 49ers will feed Kittle, but that didn’t stop them last season. Kittle’s targets win this one.

Kenny Gainwell total yards vs. Elijah Mitchell rushing yards

Wulf:Mitchell rushing yards.Love that guy.

Berman:Mitchell’s rushing yards might be the better bet, but I’m expecting Trey Sermon to be involved and think Gainwell could play a bigger role in the passing game. Give me Gainwell in the upset.

Fletcher Cox playing time percentage vs. Jalen Hurts completion percentage

Wulf:Neat job to tie in two of this week’s storylines, Bermo. Give me Cox.

Berman:Cox wins this — barely. If it’s Hurts, that’s a great sign for the Eagles.

DeVonta Smith and Jalen Reagor receiving yards vs. Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk receiving yards

Wulf:I’ll take the Eagles’ duo because of the questions surrounding Aiyuk and the 49ers’ depleted cornerback depth chart.

Berman:I’m expecting a big game from Smith and don’t think Samuel matches last week’s prolific output. Give me the Eagles duo.

Predictions

Wulf:Before Week 1, I expected the Eagles to beat the Falcons and then settle into something of a losing skid with their tough early-season schedule. Maybe I’m a peabrain easily swayed by recency bias, but the demonstrative nature of the Eagles’ Week 1 victory made an impression on me. The 49ers are better on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball than the Falcons were, but the Eagles should still have the edge in both matchups. Something tells me Gannon will have something different in store for the 49ers offense than we saw last week and the 49ers’ cornerback picture could open things up for a few more plays downfield by the Eagles. And yes, that crowd is going to be rocking for pandering’s sake. Hurts leads a late touchdown drive and the city has an extra day to party before next week’s Monday nighter in Dallas. Eagles 27, 49ers 21

Berman:It was hard not to come away impressed with the Eagles last week. The matchup is different now that the 49ers have tape on the schemes, which were still a mystery last week. However, a big part of the way the Eagles played in Week 1 was that they’re mostly healthy and their strengths (offensive line, defensive line) remained strengths. Those groups will be critical on Sunday. The 49ers are missing key pieces in the back end of the defense. If the Eagles offensive line can hold up against the 49ers pass rush, then the Eagles should be able to score against a defense that allowed 33 points to Detroit. The flip side is the 49ers moved the ball last week, and they’ll present more of a challenge for Jonathan Gannon’s unit than the Falcons did. The 49ers will run the ball effectively against the Eagles. The key will be for the Eagles to limit the big plays. (San Francisco had six plays of 20-plus yards in Week 1, excluding penalties; the Eagles didn’t allow one.) The home-field advantage should matter; there’s excitement in Philadelphia and it’ll be the first full stadium since January 2020. I’m careful to avoid overreacting to one game, but there are enough factors to make me believe the Eagles can win as home underdogs. I thought they’d split the first two games before the season and picked an Eagles loss in Week 1 and Eagles win in Week 2. I was wrong in Week 1, but I’ll stick to my preseason pick for Week 2. Eagles 27, 49ers 24

(Photo of DeVonta Smith: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)