NFL Week 4: San Francisco 49ers Look To Continue Run Against Struggling Eagles Team

That the San Francisco 49ers are dealing with a ton of injuries is by now well known. There’s no real reason to dwell on that fact.

Nick Bosa is lost for the season. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (high-ankle sprain) is officially out. Future Hall of Fame cornerback Richard Sherman (calf) is out at least one more week. The list goes on.

The defending NFC champs are also coming off a two-game span against the Jets and Giants in which they outscored arguably the two-worst teams in the NFL by a combined margin of 67-22. That came after an ugly Week 1 loss to the division-rival Arizona Cardinals.

Getting the start in Jimmy Garoppolo’s stead last week, Nick Mullens completed 25-of-36 passes for 343 yards in the 36-9 win. He became the first 49ers quarterback since Joe Montana in 1985-86 to throw for 220-plus yards in nine consecutive starts. The Mullens-led 49ers also went without a punt for the first time in a game since Week 16 of the 1993 season. That game came against the Detroit Lions and saw Steve Young connecting with the likes of Jerry Rice and John Taylor.

Not only is Mullens apparently a combination of Young and Montana, he also has some Patrick Mahomes in him.

In all seriousness, Mullens played a whale of a game replacing an injury Jimmy Garoppolo. Mullens has a plus-level matchup against a pedestrian Eagles pass defense.

That’s where I begin with previewing this game between two teams heading in opposite directions.

Philadelphia Eagles Struggles Are Real

Doug Pederson’s squad heads into Sunday night at 0-2-1. It’s the first time that Philadelphia has been winless heading into October since Pederson himself was quarterbacking the Eagles back in 1999.

This included Philadelphia blowing a 17-point lead against the Washington Football Team and a tie against the Cincinnati Bengals last week — two of the worst teams in the NFL. Philadelphia ranks 29th in the NFL in scoring defense and is in the bottom 10 in point scored.

All of this has Pederson in the hot seat mere years after he led the Eagles to a shocking Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots. A poor showing on national television Sunday night could expedite his departure from the City of Brotherly Love.

Carson Wentz Has Regressed Big Time

The first four years of Wentz’s career were defined by stellar all-around play when he was on the field. It was also defined by injuries. In fact, the former No. 2 overall pick has not finished a season since his rookie campaign back in 2016. This led to Philadelphia general manager Howie Roseman selecting Heisman finalist Jalen Hurts in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft

Wentz has thrown two interceptions in each of the first three games. He leads the league with six interceptions and boasts a bottom-five quarterback rating (63.9). It’s no help that Alshon Jeffery (Lisfranc) has not played in a single game this season. DeSean Jackson (hamstring) will join him on the sidelines Sunday evening.

Even with Richard Sherman, Ahkello Witherspoon and Emmanuel Moseley out of this game, I don’t anticipate Philadelphia being able to do a whole bunch on offense. The one exception could be stud sophomore running back Miles Sanders.

49ers Will Be Getting Some Reinforcements Back

George Kittle and Deebo Samuel will both be active together in a game for the first time since the Super Bowl. These are the 49ers’ top-two skill-position players. They will loom large against an Eagles pass defense that has yielded six touchdowns compared to zero interceptions on the season.

Mullens should be able to pick apart a questionable Eagles secondary. Remember, rookie Brandon Aiyuk is coming off a Week 3 performance that saw him tally north of 100 total yards and a touchdown. Add in the presence of Kendrick Bourne, and the 49ers will have their top-four pass catchers on the field Sunday evening at Levi’s Stadium. That will be too much for Philadelphia to overcome, as the 49ers win their third consecutive game in convincing fashion.

Eagles-49ers Week 4 Prediction: 49ers 30, Eagles 17