The San Francisco 49ers have a date with the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs on Sunday.
This is partly due to two former Niners who helped the Washington Commanders beat the Eagles in Week 18.
The Commanders turned to Josh Johnson, the career journeyman quarterback who has seemingly played for every NFL team, to start against the Eagles. And he did not play great, but it was good enough to win as he completed 14 of 22 passes for 131 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Johnson infamously played a role in San Francisco's 2022 NFC Championship game against the Eagles. He had to fill in for Brock Purdy after the then-rookie injured his elbow, eventually leaving the game himself with a concussion. That left the 49ers without a quarterback who could throw the ball, which meant Purdy had to come back in and just hand the ball off with his non-throwing arm.
Not only did Johnson help beat the Eagles, but so did former Niners kicker Jake Moody.
The Michigan product had a roller-coaster ride with the Niners as he had some good moments, but most of them were bad especially towards the end, which is why San Francisco moved on from him after Week 1 last September.
Moody spent some time with the Chicago Bears and was then signed by the Commanders. He made one of his two field goals, making from 56 yards and missing from short range, and all three extra points as the Commanders won 24-17 over Philadelphia.
The Eagles were resting most of their starters knowing that they would either be the No. 2 or No. 3 seed. Had the Commanders won, that would have meant the Eagles would be the No. 2 seed since the Chicago Bears lost. But with Washington winning, that locked Philly into the No. 3 seed and guaranteed a matchup with the Niners.
Neither the Eagles nor the Bears would have been fun playoff matchups for San Francisco. Both teams are tough and would be very difficult to defeat. But the Niners probably would have liked to play the Bears over the Eagles just because they beat them in Week 17, even though that game very easily could have gone the other way in a high-scoring shootout.
Now, San Francisco will have to face a well-rested Eagles squad trying to defend its Super Bowl title. With the injuries piling up, it will be a tall task for the 49ers to beat anyone in the playoffs, but the Eagles are probably the worst opponent they could have drawn.
And it's thanks in part to two former Niners whom most fans would like to forget.