SAN FRANCISCO (15-4) AT EAGLES (15-3)
Sunday, 3 p.m., FOX
LINE: Eagles by 2½. SERIES: 49ers, 19-14-1
LAST MEETING: 49ers, 17-11, 2021
EAGLES OFFENSE: OVERALL (3), RUSH (5), PASS (9), SCORING (3). EAGLES DEFENSE: OVERALL (2), RUSH (T-16), PASS (1), SCORING (8).
49ERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (5), RUSH (8), PASS (13), SCORING (6). 49ERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (1), RUSH (2), PASS (20), SCORING (1).
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: 49ers plus-13; Eagles plus-8. KEY MATCHUP: Eagles LT Jordan Mailata vs. 49ers DE Nick Bosa. Mailata is part of a talented offensive line that had three players, RT Lane Johnson, C Jason Kelce and LG Landon Dickerson, make the Pro Bowl. Mailata was selected as an alternate, and the 6-foot-8, 365-pound Australian native and former rugby player will get the biggest test of his career against Bosa, who led the NFL with 18½ sacks and is a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year. When San Francisco has the ball, Pro Bowl LT Trent Williams will face a similar challenge against Eagles edge rusher Haason Reddick, who added to his regular-season total of 16sacks with 1½ sacks of Giants QB Daniel Jones last week.
KEY INJURIES: Eagles CB Avonte Maddox (toe) returned to practice this week. He has not played since Dec. 24 against Dallas. Johnson, who is playing with a torn abductor, also was limited in practice. For the 49ers, WR Deebo Samuel (ankle) and backup RB Elijah Mitchell (groin) did not practice on Wednesday. Backup CB Ambry Thomas (ankle) and backup DE Charles Omenihu (oblique) were limited. All four players are likely to play, coach Kyle Shanahan said. Omenihu will play if healthy in spite of being arrested on Monday after a domestic violence allegation.
ETC: Eagles have a league-high eight Pro Bowl selections: Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, Johnson, Kelce, Dickerson, Reddick, RB Miles Sanders and CB Darius Slay. 49ers have six: Bosa, Williams, S Talanoa Hufanga, LB Fred Warner, FB Kyle Juszczyk and TE George Kittle . ... San Francisco has won 12straight games . ... 49ers limited opponents to a league-best 300.6yards during the regular season and held Cowboys to 282 last week. Defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, a former linebacker who played for Eagles for four of his 10seasons, is a top head coaching candidate . ... 49ers are playing in second straight NFC title game and third in four years . ... San Francisco K Robbie Gould has made all 29 career field-goal attempts in the postseason . ... Hurts and Purdy met once previously, in college. Hurts led Oklahoma to a 42-41over Purdy and Iowa State in 2019 . ... In addition to Reddick, Brandon Graham, Javon Hargrave and Josh Sweat each reached double-digit sacks during season with 11apiece . ... Brown (1,496) and DeVonta Smith (1,1196) became first Eagles wide receivers duo to top 1,000yards in a season . ... Home teams are 34-18in NFC title games, and No. 1seeds are 32-14in conference championships . ... Philadelphia, led by second-year coach Nick Sirianni, set franchise marks for points (477), TDs (59) and rushing TDs (32) in the regular season . ... Sanders ran for a career-high 1,269yards in the regular season . ... Eagles’ Dallas Goedert and 49ers’ George Kittle are two of the best tight ends in NFL. A shoulder injury sidelined Goedert for five games this season, but the fifth-year pro still finished with 702yards, including 12.8yards per reception, in the regular season. He tacked on five catches for 58yards and a TD against the Giants last week. Kittle had one of the postseason’s highlights, a juggling 30-yard reception down the middle of the field against Dallas last week. He caught 60passes for 765yards and 11TDs during the regular season . ... 49ers are making a record 18th appearance in the NFC title game and are seeking their eighth trip to the Super Bowl. Eagles are looking to reach their fourth Super Bowl.