Playoffs, Divisional Week: Cowboys @ 49ers

[CrimsonCrew]

Should add that coming out of the game mostly unscathed is great. If Omenihu can't go, it's a loss, as said above. He's become our second-best pass-rusher. But he's not head and shoulders above Jordan Willis, or probably Kemoko Turay. Those guys can hopefully pick up the slack.

[CrimsonCrew]

This is how the Niners should have defended the last play (granted the direct snap is even dumber than what the 'boys did):

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Why, especially after a timeout where we saw that odd formation, we didn't have anyone lined up a step-and-a-half to Elliott's side ready to go right at Dak at the snap is just beyond me. Obviously it didn't hurt us, but this is the clear way to defend this sort of play.

[Samurai]

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Actually kinda surprised that Philly is only 2.5 point favorites; I thought it would be a little higher. They are similar to Dallas in that they also have a great pass rush except Philly can send more guys at you while Parsons is the primary pass rushing threat for Dallas. But I think Philly's O-line is much better than Dallas and Hurts is a more dangerous QB (both throwing and especially running) than Dak. We will have to be better in the trenches (both the D-line to match the Eagles O-linemen and definitely our O-line in both run and pass blocking) to get to the Super Bowl. Other than week 7 against KC, this will be our toughest test.

I admittedly haven't watched much of Philly this year, but my sense is that Dallas has more raw talent at pass-rusher between Parsons and Lawrence, but Philly has loads of depth and maybe (?) more effective pass-rush scheming. That might give us a tick or two longer to get the ball out than we had this week. Parsons is pretty unique in his ability to win instantly. As good as Bosa is, and he's amazing, his pass rush is based on power and technique, instantaneous counters. He's not a Von Miller in his prime who can just blow by defender's virtually untouched and win in 1.5 seconds.

The hope for me was that Jackson had some of that instant-win ability. Obviously not giving up on that at this point, but the fact he hasn't been active lately is something of a concern. Ebukam is a solid all-around player, but he's not a great pass rusher. Most of his pressure comes on second efforts. Omenihu is pretty clearly our second-best rusher, and he's similar to Bosa in that he needs to get his hands on guys and move them.

ESPN Analytics has their own metrics for defense called Pass Rush Win Rate (PRWR), Run Stop Win Rate (RSWR)and for offense with Pass Block Win Rate (PBWR) and Run Block Win Rate (RBWR). While Micah Parsons was the #1 edge rusher in PRWR, Haason Reddick was #2 and Josh Sweat was #10 (Bosa by the way was #9). And among DT's, Javon Hargrave was #3 (Niners didn't have a DT in the top ten). That's a lot of guys who are elite pass rushers; it's not just one guy like Parsons that you have to worry about. And on offense, Lane Johnson was #1 among OT's in PBWR, Landron Dickinson was #2 among guards, and Kelce was #8 among centers (Niners didn't have any O-linemen in the top ten). No wonder the Eagles far and away led the NFL with 70 sacks (KC was second at 55!). Eagles are where they are largely because they dominate the game in the trenches on both sides of the ball. And most of the time, the team that wins in the trenches wins the game. Our linemen will have to step up and try to stay competitive in the trenches in order to give our playmakers a chance to win the game for us.

[CrimsonCrew]

Actually kinda surprised that Philly is only 2.5 point favorites; I thought it would be a little higher. They are similar to Dallas in that they also have a great pass rush except Philly can send more guys at you while Parsons is the primary pass rushing threat for Dallas. But I think Philly's O-line is much better than Dallas and Hurts is a more dangerous QB (both throwing and especially running) than Dak. We will have to be better in the trenches (both the D-line to match the Eagles O-linemen and definitely our O-line in both run and pass blocking) to get to the Super Bowl. Other than week 7 against KC, this will be our toughest test.

I admittedly haven't watched much of Philly this year, but my sense is that Dallas has more raw talent at pass-rusher between Parsons and Lawrence, but Philly has loads of depth and maybe (?) more effective pass-rush scheming. That might give us a tick or two longer to get the ball out than we had this week. Parsons is pretty unique in his ability to win instantly. As good as Bosa is, and he's amazing, his pass rush is based on power and technique, instantaneous counters. He's not a Von Miller in his prime who can just blow by defender's virtually untouched and win in 1.5 seconds.

The hope for me was that Jackson had some of that instant-win ability. Obviously not giving up on that at this point, but the fact he hasn't been active lately is something of a concern. Ebukam is a solid all-around player, but he's not a great pass rusher. Most of his pressure comes on second efforts. Omenihu is pretty clearly our second-best rusher, and he's similar to Bosa in that he needs to get his hands on guys and move them.

ESPN Analytics has their own metrics for defense called Pass Rush Win Rate (PRWR), Run Stop Win Rate (RSWR)and for offense with Pass Block Win Rate (PBWR) and Run Block Win Rate (RBWR). While Micah Parsons was the #1 edge rusher in PRWR, Haason Reddick was #2 and Josh Sweat was #10 (Bosa by the way was #9). And among DT's, Javon Hargrave was #3 (Niners didn't have a DT in the top ten). That's a lot of guys who are elite pass rushers; it's not just one guy like Parsons that you have to worry about. And on offense, Lane Johnson was #1 among OT's in PBWR, Landron Dickinson was #2 among guards, and Kelce was #8 among centers (Niners didn't have any O-linemen in the top ten). No wonder the Eagles far and away led the NFL with 70 sacks (KC was second at 55!). Eagles are where they are largely because they dominate the game in the trenches on both sides of the ball. And most of the time, the team that wins in the trenches wins the game. Our linemen will have to step up and try to stay competitive in the trenches in order to give our playmakers a chance to win the game for us.

Sure, I absolutely don't mean to knock the Eagles' players at all. They are really good. Parsons is special in the NFL right now with his ability to get to the QB when he has a good rush. Our OL has its work cut out for it. The good news for our DL is that Lane Johnson was visibly limping on Saturday after coming back early from an injury, and Dickerson exited with what I thought might be a sprained ankle. He came back, but that's the sort of injury that can often be easier to play on in the immediate aftermath than it is a week later. Those guys will almost certainly not be 100%, and we need to capitalize on that.

But I think we're arguably outmatched on both lines, and that's a huge concern for this team. Philly does what we do in the trenches, just better.