Thumbs up or down: Eagles beat writers weigh in on the matchup with the 49ers instead of the Cowboys

First off, the thumbs down here doesn’t reflect an ultimate prediction for Sunday’s NFC championship. The Eagles and 49ers were the two best teams in the conference during the regular season and fittingly are evenly matched on paper and film. I just think a third meeting against the Cowboys, a well-known and slightly weaker opponent, would have been an easier challenge than facing the 49ers. I’ve seen others suggest otherwise because Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott has a higher pedigree than San Francisco’s Brock Purdy. He also has a much more expansive record. But he’s been more erratic — as was evident in Sunday’s 19-12 divisional loss — and the Eagles, for the most part, have feasted on turnover-prone quarterbacks. Purdy has just two interceptions and zero fumbles in the seven starts since he took over.

Purdy has been efficient, if unspectacular, running Kyle Shanahan’s offense. When the Cowboys were able to keep the 49ers’ potent ground game in check early, the quarterback struggled throwing the ball, particular in the red zone. But once San Francisco wore down Dallas’ front, it had greater success through the air. The Eagles will likely employ more of their 5-2 front than in almost any other game this season. The 49ers use a lot of two-back personnel with Christian McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell and that will place more of the onus of nose tackles Linval Joseph and Jordan Davis and inside linebackers T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White. The Eagles will also need to tackle well in space. The 49ers are first in the NFL in yards after contact. Run defense and tackling have been maybe the two biggest concerns for Jonathan Gannon’s defense, although its been better in both regards over the last six weeks.

» READ MORE: Sizing up some early Eagles-49ers NFC championship betting props

The main reason, though, for believing the 49ers will be a tougher out than the Cowboys lies with their defense, which has had as much to do with their 12-game winning streak as anything. They’re loaded on that side of ball and are fast and physical as any unit. Defensive end Nick Bosa gets a lot of attention, as he should, but middle linebacker Fred Warner is the heartbeat of the defense. It’s no surprise since his coordinator — DeMeco Ryans — is a former middle linebacker himself. Ryans has mastered the art of unpredictability. His zones often look alike pre-snap and he doesn’t lean heavily in one direction. The Eagles offense has been virtually unstoppable with quarterback Jalen Hurts at full strength. He wasn’t 100 percent on Saturday, but it didn’t matter in the lopsided victory over the New York Giants. The 49ers are a different test, of course. That doesn’t mean Nick Sirianni won’t devise a game plan to confound Ryans. That doesn’t mean A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, Miles Sanders, and arguably the best offensive line in the league won’t have individual matchup advantages. But for the sake of this exercise, it means San Fran will be tougher to beat than the Cowboys.

» READ MORE: Eagles’ Nick Sirianni: Ailing A.J. Brown is expected to play vs. 49ers

The Eagles would have deservedly been favored against either the Cowboys or the 49ers, but Dallas’ variance was slightly more concerning to me.

» READ MORE: Eagles open as slight favorite in NFC Championship game vs. 49ers

The image of Prescott shredding Gannon’s defensive scheme apart on Christmas Eve is a difficult one to shake, even after Prescott came up astoundingly short against the Niners. Prescott was the ultimate hot-and-cold player down the stretch this season, and the chance of him catching fire at the Linc would have been reason enough to refrain from calling an Eagles-Cowboys showdown for a Super Bowl berth early.

None of this is to say the 49ers will be a cakewalk — it’s quite the opposite. Their defensive front is the stuff of nightmares. Their offensive firepower and the creativity in which Shanahan deploys it will keep Gannon’s hands full all week. For all the hype surrounding the AFC matchup between elite quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow, the NFC’s final showdown features the two most talented rosters outside of that position.

Still, the Eagles have matchup advantages even against a team as complete as San Francisco. The Niners have struggled against elite receivers, albeit in wins, and haven’t faced an offense with an expansive quarterback run game all season save for a meeting with the New Orleans Saints with Taysom Hill in spot duty.

Dallas offered a sizable advantage for the Eagles’ coaching staff and the blunders that ended the Cowboys’ season are hard to ignore. They’re not as disciplined as the Eagles or the 49ers, but the quarterback is reason enough to feel better about this draw.

Purdy has looked capable all year, but a path to the Super Bowl through Daniel Jones and the rookie seventh-rounder is a favorable one.

Simply put, the 49ers have a better overall roster compared to the Cowboys. It’s fitting that the conference’s top two teams meet in the NFC championship with the winner advancing to the sport’s biggest stage.

The Eagles nearly defeated the Cowboys with backup quarterback Gardner Minshew on Christmas Eve. Despite committing four turnovers, the Eagles made that Week 16 contest competitive until the end. One can only imagine how Hurts might’ve performed against his team’s biggest rival in a win-or-go-home setting. Additionally, the coaching staff boasts much more familiarity with the Cowboys, which presents another layer for Sirianni, Gannon, and special teams coordinator Michael Clay as they collectively prepare for the 49ers.

Purdy is the more favorable quarterback matchup in comparison to Prescott, but across the board, the combined talent between the Eagles and 49ers is evident with toss-ups at nearly every position. San Francisco will be the toughest defense the Eagles have faced all season. While this grading isn’t indicative of a potential outcome between the two teams, the Eagles didn’t get the best draw from this past weekend’s outcomes.