NFC Championship: Eagles have these glaring advantages over 49ers

The 49ers face a tall task against the top-seeded Eagles in the NFC Championship game, and here’s why Philly could prove a dangerous opponent.

The 2023 NFC Championship is what it should be, the top two seeds within the conference — the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles — squaring off against each other for the right to advance to Super Bowl LVII.

Both teams won their respective divisions, and both teams finished with at least 13 wins in the books.

On top of that, both the Niners and Philly boasted offenses and defenses that ranked in the top 10. As far as the scoring margins for both teams, they’re ranked one and two, with San Francisco’s point differential at plus-10.4 and Philadelphia’s at plus-9.1.

Simply put, both teams are evenly matched in a number of different areas.

However, the Eagles do carry some sizable advantages over the 49ers, and those could come into play when both teams battle it out in the NFC Championship game this Sunday.

Here’s where Philly has the edge.

NFC Championship advantage No. 1: Jalen Hurts over Brock Purdy

There’s no doubt rookie quarterback Brock Purdy has been an exceptional storyline for the Niners since taking over for the injured veteran, Jimmy Garoppolo, way back in Week 13.

As entertaining and as good as Purdy has been, though, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has the edge, both in terms of experience and the numbers put up this season. Sure, the latter category is influenced by the fact that Hurts has actually started for the full year and not just the home stretch.

But, in terms of arm strength and mobility, it’s not a close argument. Hurts is superior in that regard, and he’s a certifiable candidate for the league MVP award.

OK, so Purdy can be in the running for the Offensive Rookie of the Year accolade, yet it’s hard to argue that he’s superior to Hurts in the quarterbacking department.

And that could prove to be vital in such a high-profile NFC Championship game.