The Wild Card Round matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles will feature an excellent running back battle between Saquon Barkley and Christian McCaffrey.
Both running backs can impact the running and passing game for both respective teams. All eyes will be on McCaffrey to see if the veteran can have a bounce-back performance.
McCaffrey had eight carries for 23 rushing yards and six receptions for 34 receiving yards in the Week 18 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Nonetheless, this isn’t the production many expect from the 49ers’ running back, and if the Niners want to advance to the NFC Divisional Round, they need more from McCaffrey.
Ahead of the game on Jan. 11, Barkley spoke with the media and had high praise for the 49ers star.
“We shot a commercial together in this offseason,” Barkley said of McCaffrey (h/t 95.7 The Game). “It always starts off cool, and then somehow, somewhere, we were competing. One time in the Pro Bowl, it was Connect 4. I remember after the commercial, I’m on my phone, we’re texting, and we’re going against each other in chess. I won, by the way.
“So anytime you go against a guy who’s such a great back, and a future Hall of Famer, in my opinion, you definitely want to go out there and perform at a high level. But it always comes down to, like you said, I can’t stop him. He can’t stop me. But I’d be lying to you if I didn’t say that you want to go out there and win, especially against a guy like that.”
49ers’ Christian McCaffrey Talks Eagles Defense
While Barkley can’t stop McCaffrey, the Eagles‘ defensive unit will do their best to replicate what the Seahawks defense did and limit the veteran running back’s impact in the game.
Ahead of the game against the Eagles, McCaffrey spoke with reporters on Jan. 7 and shared his thoughts on Philadelphia’s defense.
“You’ve got great scheme and great players, and anytime you play against great scheme and great players, you really got to execute,” McCaffrey said (h/t 95.7 The Game). “You’ve got to be locked in on the details, and just continue to stay focused throughout the entire game.”
Jalen Hurts Draws Blunt Words From the Niners
Despite all the hurdles the Eagles faced during the 2025 NFL regular season, Jalen Hurts posted a passer rating of 98.5 with 3,224 yards, 25 touchdowns, and six interceptions in 16 games, per StatMuse.
“He’s got a big-time arm,” Shanahan said (h/t Grant Cohn of On SI). “With those wideouts and stuff he has, he’s capable of making any throw, whether on time or whether extremely late, because usually, when a quarterback is late, you can’t throw it that far and catch up with those guys—he can.
“So, you got to honor the entire field with them. And anytime you have a quarterback who’s capable of doing that, who also is a threat every single play throughout an entire game with his legs, it’s an issue, whether he uses it or not.
“When someone is a threat like that, you have to adjust certain things that you don’t have to worry about versus other people. And whether they do it or not, you got to honor it, and that slows down your whole defense as a whole.”
Saquon Barkley Hits 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey With Strong Words