Philadelphia Eagles: 3 Keys to victory versus San Francisco 49ers
By Hunter Doyle
3. The Philadelphia Eagles must attack the secondary
Injuries have ravaged San Francisco’s cornerback room. Jason Verrett is already out for the season with a torn ACL and Emmanuel Moseley is doubtful for this week. Rookie Deommodre Lenoir played every snap last week and allowed just one catch for three yards on four targets and 55 coverage snaps according to PFF.
He was impressive in OTAs and the preseason but DeVonta Smith could give him issues. Smith already looks like a seasoned wideout with his twitch, release, separation, and hands. Expect him to build off of a strong debut with inferior competition in front of him. He’ll thrive if the Niners go with a heavy Cover 3 gameplan and allow him to break off curls, outs, and comebacks by selling vertical initially.
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Quez Watkins could also be in for a big day with Josh Norman likely starting opposite of Lenoir. It’s safe to say Norman is past his prime.
Watkins didn’t make much noise after the opening drive against Atlanta but the Philadelphia Eagles might take a few shots this week. If they can hit on one to Quez, they’ll be in good shape.
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Hurts did everything that was asked of him last week but didn’t push the ball downfield too much. He might not need to in this one but it’ll help for him to try and hit a few throws downfield when necessary.
If Jalen Reagor spends a lot of time in the slot, he’ll draw the toughest matchup with K’Waun Williams across from him but expect Sirianni to try and feed him the ball underneath on screens, drags, slants, and rub routes for YAC.