Why Ambry Thomas Can Be the 49ers' Hero Against the Eagles

If the 49ers win on Sunday, they most likely will intercept Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who has thrown 10 picks in 11 games this season.

Hurts' top two targets are A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith -- two of the best wide receivers in the NFL. Brown is big and strong, Smith is lean and fast and both can make acrobatic catches downfield.

Charvarius Ward most likely will shadow A.J. Brown, just as Ward shadowed D.K. Metcalf last week, because Ward matches up well with big wide receivers. In the NFC Championship game 11 months ago, Ward limited Brown to just 28 receiving yards.

And that means Hurts most likely will look to throw to Smith, who's just as effective as Brown, and has a much more favorable matchup on paper, because he'll face Ambry Thomas.

Thomas is the 49ers' No. 3 corner, and he didn't play much before the bye week -- the 49ers benched him at halftime of Week 1 and kept him on the sideline for a couple months. Now he's back on the field playing cornerback in the nickel defense, and he's playing surprisingly well.

Last week, Thomas intercepted Seahawks cornerback Geno Smith. And for the season, Thomas is allowing a passer rating of just 83.5.

Smith will be a big challenge for Thomas, but they faced each other four years ago in college when Thomas was at Michigan and Smith was at Alabama, and Thomas held Smith to just 3 catches for 56 yards and 1 touchdown, which isn't bad, considering Smith won the Heisman Trophy.

If Thomas can hold his own against Smith on Sunday, the 49ers have an excellent chance to win.