Purdy low: Eagles are underdogs at home against 49ers
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Eagles QB Jalen Hurts and 49ers QB Brock Purdy. Photos: Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images; Jane Gershovich/Getty Images
Talk about D-I-S-R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
Driving the news: San Francisco will find out what it means to the one-loss Birds, the team with the NFL's best record that enters Sunday's highly anticipated home matchup against the 49ers as underdogs.
Why it matters: Oddsmakers are giving the already-rabid Eagles fan base another reason to get up for the rematch of last season's NFC Championship game.
Catch up quick: The Birds have proven why they've been the best team in the league this season, mounting come-from-behind wins against Kansas City and Buffalo the last two weeks to plow through the toughest part of their schedule.
- They did need a 59-yard field goal from kicker Jake Elliott to force overtime against the Bills last week.
- Jalen Hurts accounted for five touchdowns, including the game-winning score on the ground. He's the betting favorite to win MVP this season, following his MVP-caliber run last year.
The intrigue: The Eagles will need another big performance from Hurts, who is facing off against San Francisco's Brock Purdy.
Flashback: The second-year QB was knocked out of last season's NFC Championship game with an elbow injury on the sixth play of the game.
- The 49ers lost its backup later in the game and resorted to lining up star running back Christian McCaffrey at QB.
- The Eagles dominated from then on to solidify their first Super Bowl appearance since winning it all in 2018.
Yes, but: Purdy is fully recovered from offseason surgery and is having a great comeback season, leading the Niners to an 8-3 record.
- He leads the league in completion percentage, passer rating and yards per attempt, per CBS Sports.
- San Francisco is 14-3 in games he starts and finishes over the past two seasons.
What they're saying: Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan was perplexed about being favored while the always excitable Nick Sirianni is playing it up.
- "Good, we like being the underdog," the Birds coach said this week on the 94WIP Morning Show. "I think the first thing I ever knew about the city when I was a little kid was Rocky — he's always the underdog."
The bottom line: Funny you mention that, Nick. Look who's gonna be in town.