Eagles-49ers game will be impacted by rain: Weather forecast

If you haven’t heard by now, it’s going to rain during the Eagles vs. 49ers game in Philadelphia today.

Here’s an update from AccuWeather:

A wet, mild day is forecast in south Philadelphia as the Eagles welcome the 49ers to town.

Temperatures will remain in the middle to upper 60s during the game, but combination of wind and rain will keep AccuWeather ReelFeel® Temperatures in the 50s.

Fans will need to bring jackets and appropriate rain gear to the game and any tailgates they are attending before kickoff.

The wind will be from the southeast at 12-22 mph with stronger gusts. Teams driving toward the southern end zone will be at a disadvantage kicking and passing into this gusty wind.

In addition to the wind, the steady rainfall will make it more difficult to gain traction and cleanly handle the football at times.

Here’s an hourly forecast via Weather.com:

For those wondering -- and I’ve received some questions about this — no, the Eagles game will likely not be canceled or postponed because of the rain. There is a possibility of delay, however, if there are significant lightning strikes.

But how will the weather impact the game itself? That’s an interesting question.

The Eagles are obviously heavy favorites (13 points) headed into this matchup, as they should be. They have the best record in the NFL. The 49ers are tied for the worst record.

In theory, the inclement weather could favor the Eagles. If the rain forces the 49ers to run the ball more often, that would seemingly favor Philly’s top-ranked run defense. On the flip side, the 49ers ranked third-to-last in run defense. The Eagles could get their ground game going in the wet weather.

The rain will prove to be another test for second-year quarterback Carson Wentz. The North Dakota native isn’t unfamiliar to harsh conditions, but Wentz infamously struggled to throw a wet ball at his pro day last offseason. Hat tip to r/Eagles for digging up this story:

After the workout, [Pep] Hamilton doused the ball again with water, just like he did to Cal's Jared Goff last week. The first pass skipped into the ground, and he was a little inconsistent with the rest of the wet-ball throws, but the scripted part of his workout, including 65 throws, was excellent.

Wentz acknowledged that his first wet-ball throw was a "duck'' but didn't fret about it. "It happens. It was pretty doused,'' he said. "It would've had to be a torrential downpour.''

Well, Carson, Sunday just might fit those conditions.

The reality is that both teams will have to deal with the weather. Perhaps it won’t even have a huge impact on outcome of the game. Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said he doesn’t expect the weather to majorly change how he prepares for the game.

Not necessarily the game plan, but going into the game, knowing that it could rain, it might change how you call the game just a little bit. It just depends on the amount of rain.

But it's something, too, that we don't let -- try not to let it be a distraction for us. Okay, we know it's going to rain, so we still have to go play and execute. But it doesn't change necessarily the way we game plan, per se.

But it does cause at least a little concern. In a normal game environment, there’s really no reason to be worried about the Eagles losing to the 49ers. San Francisco is struggling this season. They’re traveling from the West Coast to play a 1:00 PM game. Their offensive line, which isn’t that great to begin with, is dealing with a lot of injuries and going up a strong Eagles defensive line. Rookie quarterback C.J. Beathard is in his second career start.

All these factors are reasons to feel good about why the Eagles should win and advance to 7-1 today. B

The only problem is the weather adds an unknown element into the equation. Maybe the game becomes closer than expected and there’s some kind of fluke turnover or something. Who knows.

Great teams are able to overcome adversity. The Eagles have had to overcome factors such as bad officiating, a blown lead, a rough start, etc. Now the weather will be their newest challenge. Once again it’s time to see what these Birds are made of.