The 2023 NFL playoffs got underway last weekend, with six teams having their dreams crushed during wild-card weekend. Eight total teams remain, with four NFC teams looking to lock up a trip to Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Arizona, on Feb. 12.
The top two seeds remain in the NFC after the Vikings and Buccaneers were upset in the wild-card round.
No. 1: Philadelphia Eagles
No. 2: San Francisco 49ers
No. 5: Dallas Cowboys
No. 6: New York Giants
Here’s a breakdown of the four remaining NFC teams.
(1) Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia is coming off of a bye and hasn’t played since the 22-16 win over the Giants at home in Week 18.
Jalen Hurts returned after missing the previous two because of a shoulder injury. The All-Pro quarterback was 20-of-35 for 229 yards and an interception while adding 13 yards on nine carries.
Hurts 13 rushing touchdowns tied him for second overall in the NFL, and he finished third among quarterbacks with 760 rushing yards.
The Eagles have won three in a row over the Giants and nine straight against their rivals at home. Saturday marks the fifth playoff meeting between these teams, with the Eagles winning the last two matchups.
The most recent postseason encounter was in the Divisional Round of the 2008-09 season, with Philadephia winning 23-11 in the Meadowlands
Boston Scott has scored 17 touchdowns in his career (60 games), and 10 of those have come against the Giants. He has scored at least once in each of his eight games against the Giants.
On defense, Philadelphia will counter with the NFL’s leading top sack unit, two All-Pros at cornerback and a wave of pass rushers.
(2) San Francisco 49ers
Brock Purdy isn’t playing like the final pick of the NFL and he’s taking advantage of his myriad of weapons that include tight end George Kittle, running back Christian McCaffrey, wide receiver Deebo Samuel, and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
On defense, San Francisco was tied with the Steelers for a league-best 20 interceptions in the regular season and with the Titans for a league-low 3.4 yards allowed per carry.
Defensively, no team in the NFL recorded a better EPA per play on defense this season than San Francisco, which excelled against both the run and the pass.
They’ll counter the Cowboys’ offense with Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw, and Talanoa Hufanga to name a few.
(5) Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys got their first playoff road win in nearly 30 years, after dominating the Buccaneers on Monday night to end Super Wild Card Weekend.
Sunday will be a rematch of San Francisco’s 23-17 win over Dallas in the 2022 Wild Card round.
Dak Prescott will look to continue his streak, and he’ll counter the 49ers’ dominant defense with weapons like wideout CeeDee Lamb, wideout Michael Gallup, tight end Dalton Schultz, and running back Tony Pollard among others.
The Cowboys’ defense forced more turnovers (33) than anyone this season and logged 56 sacks and 16 interceptions.
The matchup to watch will feature 49ers star left tackle Trent Williams against Cowboys star pass rusher Micah Parsons.
(6) New York Giants
New York advanced to the Divisional Round following a 31-24 win over NFC North champion Minnesota last Sunday. The underdog Giants were led by Daniel Jones, who made history in his first-ever postseason start.
Jones became the first quarterback to finish a playoff game with at least 300 passing yards, 75 rushing, and two touchdowns. More importantly,
Jones didn’t turn the ball over against the Vikings. The defense also did its part, limiting Justin Jefferson to just 47 yards on seven catches and holding Minnesota to less than four yards per carry.
but he was fourth in the league in rushing this season (1,312 yards) and remains a threat to break off a big play anytime the ball is in his hands.
Daniel Jones has led the Giants in rushing four times this season and he’s had previous success on the ground against Philadelphia.
Wink Martindale’s defense is improving and they’ll have Adoree Jackson and Leonard Williams against the Eagles for the first time this season.
Williams and Dexter Lawrence give the Giants a lethal duo along the defensive front for New York.
The Giants ran the ball 30 times for 142 yards against the Vikings in the Super Wild Card Round and will look to duplicate a similar game plan.
