NFC Championship 2023 Comparisons: Offensive Line

Leading up to the Eagles match-up with the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, Sports Talk Philly and Eagledelphia will compare the personnel of the two teams each day until gameday is here.

In this edition of our week-long comparison, we will look at the running backs that the Eagles and 49ers will field on Sunday.

Philadelphia OL | Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Jason Kelce, Isaac Seumalo, Lane Johnson, Jack Driscoll, Andre Dillard, Cam Jurgens, Josh Sills

Much of Jalen Hurts and the offense’s success season can be attributed to their offensive linemen. The Eagles fierce start to this season ranked them No. 1 in the NFL and never flinched from that spot. The big-bodied offensive line had its way in the final game of the season against the Giants, not allowing more than a single hurry to Hurts.

The Eagles offensive line is some of the best in the NFL – and not just at football. Jordan Mailata, Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson were busy promoting their Christmas album off the field while dominating on the field. Mailata and Kelce didn’t have a huge season on paper but did step up big with stable performances to keep the offense on the field. Maybe the biggest and most important stat to come out of this historic season is Lane Johnson never allowing a sack since Week 11 of 2020.

The only major flaw that came out of this season was the number of penalties the offensive line had. They tied in the NFL for being the most penalized line, which shouldn’t amount to much given the circumstances of the penalties.

Lane Johnson continues to play though a painful injury to support the team, so his ability to continue with that could be a major factor in the team’s contests moving forward.

49er OL | Trent Williams, Aaron Banks, Jake Brendel, Spencer Burford, Mike McGlinchey, Nick Zakelj, Jaylon Moore, Colton McKivitz, Daniel Brunskill

The 49ers start Williams-Banks-Brendel-Burford-McGlinchey and, for all the arguments about how the Eagles have been healthy on their offensive line, the same could be said for the 49ers. McGlinchey and Brendel have started every game this season while Burford and Bank had each only missed one game. Trent Williams missed three games this season.

Of course, they key to the San Francisco offensive line is Trent Williams, the lone Pro Bowl player and All-Pro option on the 49ers offensive line. Manning the other tackle position, McGlinchey would be the teams second-most valuable offensive lineman.

Up the middle, the 49ers are not as stout as they are on the outside. Burford, a rookie fourth-round pick, is the weak link amongst the group while Banks, a second-year man drafted in the second round, isn’t all to far behind. The center, Jake Brendel, is the strongest lineman that the Niners have up the middle and could be the key to stopping the Eagles interior pass rush.

Daniel Brunskill and Jaylon Moore have been the two offensive linemen that come off the bench when another offensive lineman has been injured.

Edge

The 49ers have the clear advantage at left tackle as Jordan Mailata has struggled more this season than he ever has while Trent Williams has continued his Hall of Fame career at a level that reflects that.

Elsewhere, however, the Eagles have the lead. Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson are the top players at center and right tackle, respectively. Landon Dickerson is a Pro Bowl caliber player and Isaac Seumalo continues to be the unsung glue at the guard position who is certainly outperforming the guards on San Francisco’s roster.

When you look at depth, the Eagles have an edge there, too. Andre Dillard serves as a second starting-caliber left tackle while the first player off the bench at the other positions would be Cam Jurgens (a second-round pick who dominated in the preseason) at center and Jack Driscoll at the other three spots. When you consider that Jack Driscoll himself would likely be a starting guard for the Niners if he were on their roster this season, the advantage for this position becomes very clear.