3) Which running back will explode?
Saturday will be the fourth all-time playoff game between the two previous AP Offensive Player of the Year winners: Saquon Barkley won in 2024, Christian McCaffrey in 2023.
McCaffrey has been the 49ers’ workhorse, leading the NFL with 413 touchdowns this season, 44 more than any other player (Jonathan Taylor, 369). McCaffrey came back from injury last season to add 1,202 rushing yards on 311 carries. The concern with the Niners’ passing offense has been consistency. McCaffrey averaged just 3.9 yards per carry, the lowest of his career since his rookie campaign (3.7). The punt runs have been few and far between, with CMC earning just 11 runs of 15-plus yards and three over 20 yards.
The best all-round weapon in football is a matchup nightmare. His 924 receiving yards on 102 catches gave McCaffrey 2,126 scrimmage yards this season, second in the NFL (Bijan Robinson, 2,298). CMC produced 12 games with 100-plus scrimmage yards, tied for the most in the NFL (James Cook), and 10 games with 100-plus scrimmage yards and at least one touchdown (most in the NFL). Philly allowed 639 receiving yards to running backs, seventh most in the NFL, so expect Brock Purdy to look for CMC often on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Barkley, coming off a 2,005-yard 2024 season, didn’t get a Pro Bowl nod as the Eagles offense was stuck in the mud. Filmmaker produced 1,140 rushing yards on 280 carries (4.1 YPC) with seven touchdowns. The big difference this season is that the big runs have been absent from the offense. In 2024, Barkley had 17 rushes of 20-plus yards and a whopping seven of 40-plus. In 2025, he had just four rushes of 20-plus yards and three that went 40 yards or more. Part of the lack of explosiveness has been play-calling and other blocking concerns, with linebackers not getting to the second level as regularly as they were a year ago.
Like many quarterbacks who lead the league in carries, as Barkley did a year ago with 345, things got off to a slow start. From Weeks 1-13, the RB averaged 61.7 rushing yards per game, 3.7 yards per carry on 16.5 carries per down. However, he has found a groove in recent weeks. Over his last four games, Barkley has averaged 100.0 yards on 20.5 carries per game for a 4.9 yards per carry average. With Lane Johnson and others behind the Eagles line hopefully healthier, we could see a 2024 Barkley return in the 2025 playoffs.