After an abysmal three-point scoring performance against the Seattle Seahawks, the 49ers offense will have to bounce back against the Philadelphia Eagles to keep their Super Bowl hopes alive. 

They will have to do it against a familiar face: Former 49ers and current Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. 

Kyle Shanahan has gone up against Vic Fangio’s defense only four times. The last time was 2018. Shanahan’s offenses scored 11, 6, 15 & 9 points. His QBs were John Beck, Robert Griffin, Jimmy Garoppolo and Nick Mullens. Shanahan tried to hire Fangio in 2017, but Bears blocked it.

— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) January 6, 2026

Although Fangio has had past success against 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan’s offenses in previous matchups, the longtime NFL coach sees many challenges that he will face on Sunday. 

“They have a really good scheme – it’s all packaged together very nicely,” Fangio told reporters during a press conference Tuesday. “They give you a lot of good motions. Everything they do is with a purpose, and they do a really good job with it…” 

“… I mean, they had a run where they were [the] hottest offense in the league for like six, seven weeks in a row.” 

In the first six games since quarterback Brock Purdy’s return from injury in Week 11, the 49ers were indeed the hottest offense in the NFL, scoring a league-leading 35.7 points per game in that span before their screeching halt against Seattle. 

Fangio noted that Shanahan’s use of motion, a staple of his offense, helps the 49ers decipher defensive pressure before the snap, which can provide an additional challenge for his defensive play-calling. 

“They’re really good at the motion,” Fangio explained. “They have variety in it, different types of it. They do it for a reason and they’re good at it.” 

San Francisco used pre-snap motion on 73.8 percent of its offensive plays this season, the fourth-most in the NFL. 

Along with motion helping Purdy make pre-snap identifications, Fangio also praised Purdy’s mobility after the snap as a source of the 49ers’ offensive potency. 

“Yeah, he’s very good at that.” Fangio noted when asked about Purdy’s scrambling. “He’s a scrambler and when he’s scrambling, he’s looking down the field. His eyes go down the field. He’s wanting to throw out of the scramble before he decides to run it, and he’s very good at it.” 

Fangio also singled out star running back Christian McCaffrey and star tight end George Kittle as impact players for the 49ers. Those two could make life hard for the Philadelphia front seven. 

“It’s a big game for everybody,” Fangio stated. “I mean, you play an offense this good and this diverse, all 11 [players] have got to be cooking.” 

San Francisco put up a whopping 42 points in their last game at Philadelphia in Week 13 of the 2022 season. 

But Fangio was not with the Eagles then. In the past two seasons, the Philadelphia defense has finished top-five in the NFL for points allowed per game. 

It’s safe to say, Shanahan and Purdy will have their hands full in the wild-card matchup. 

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