The defending Super Bowl champions host another mainstay NFC contender in the mid-afternoon game of Sunday's wild-card tripleheader.
The pregame narrative: Despite racking up 12 wins, the San Francisco 49ers are on the road to face the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Both teams enter with identical 10-7 ATS records, though the Niners look poised to embrace the underdog role.
Check out my 49ers vs. Eagles picks, featuring predictions on George Kittle and A.J. Brown in a +320 SGP.
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49ers vs. Eagles picks
SGP: Kittle under 58.5 rec. yards | Brown 50+ rec. yards | 49ers +7.5 (+320)
Kittle under 58.5 receiving yards (-115): George Kittle is tough as nails, and although he's back on the injury report for a third straight week with an ankle injury, there's no doubt he'll play.
No one is feeling 100% at this point in the season, but Kittle is definitely playing more than a few ticks below that. And in a matchup as tough as this one, I don't like his chances of having a monster game.
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- On a per-game basis, the Eagles have allowed the second-fewest catches (3.9) and yards (29.8) to tight ends this season.
- Linebackers are often the ones tasked with covering tight ends, and Philly's linebackers are arguably the best in the biz at that. According to RotoWire, the Eagles' LB group has allowed an NFL-low 22.5 passer rating to opposing quarterbacks.
After missing Week 17 due to his ankle injury, Kittle returned last week and caught five passes for 29 yards. I'm sure he'll get some looks, but I'm not expecting any chunk plays to come of it.
49ers vs. Eagles prop prediction
Brown 50+ receiving yards (-245): Brown was at the centre of some soap-opera-grade drama in Philly this year, but that appears to be a thing of the past.
In recent weeks, he and his quarterback have linked up for some bold — and beautiful — results.
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- From Week 11 onward, Brown has averaged 9.6 targets, 6.7 catches and 85.0 yards per game.
- He has 40+ yards in seven straight games, going 5-2 vs. this milestone in that span.
- For context, Brown was only averaging 6.8 targets, 3.9 catches and 51.0 yards from Weeks 1-10.
I like Brown's chances of shredding a secondary that allowed the eighth-most yards in the NFL this season.
The Niners allowed an 87.7 passer rating as a defence, which ranked in the 13th percentile.
SGP prediction: NFL ATS pick
49ers +7.5 (-200): Even if Kittle has a relatively quiet game and Brown does some damage for Philly, I like San Francisco to cover a touchdown with a hook on Sunday afternoon.
The Niners were one of the absolute best road teams in the NFL this season, going 7-2-0 ATS.
They covered by an average of 5.8 points in road games, per Team Rankings, which was the third-highest mark in the NFL.
Excluding a Week 18 game in which many key players rested, Philadelphia went 3-3 down the stretch with three straight-up losses as a favourite.
San Francisco is the more banged-up team, but the visiting squad does have an extra day of rest after playing on Saturday last weekend.
49ers vs. Eagles picks made at 3:45 p.m. on Jan. 8, 2025.
