Eagles need to be extra cautious against winless 49ers in Week 8
By Dan Parzych
Just because the Philadelphia Eagles have the best record in the NFL at the moment doesn’t mean they should take a different approach against the winless San Francisco 49ers.
Heading into the 2017 season, the Philadelphia Eagles were considered to be a potential surprise team in the NFC, but it’s safe to say nobody expected them to be playing this good. At 6-1, the Eagles currently have the best record in the NFL, and there’s nothing they would love more than to keep it that way this weekend with a favorable matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.
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On paper, Philadelphia seems to be a heavy favorite when considering San Francisco is coming off a brutal loss to the Dallas Cowboys, and is still in search of that first win in 2017. But in a way, this has trap game written all over it for the Eagles since the 49ers are playing with a “nothing to lose” mindset at this point.
If San Francisco ends up losing this game, nobody will think anything big of it since most football fans expect this to happen anyway, as bad as it sounds. But if Philadelphia ends up on the losing end, the popular discussion heading into Monday will easily be whether Doug Pederson‘s squad does in fact have what it takes to be a top contender in the NFC since they couldn’t even get by the winless 49ers.
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Not to mention, there are numerous factors that could work to the advantage of San Francisco ranging from Pierre Garcon breaking out to C.J. Beathard motivated to show he does in fact have what it takes to be a starter in the NFL. Philadelphia may be the heavy favorites to win this game at the moment, but if they overlook San Francisco, who keep in mind has five losses by three points or less, being winless heading into Week 8, it could end up backfiring for the NFC East leaders.