Thomas intercepted Seahawks cornerback Geno Smith last week. And Thomas has a passer rating of only 83.5 this season.
If the 49ers win on Sunday, they will almost certainly intercept Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who has thrown 10 interceptions this season.
Hurts’ top two targets are A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, two of the league’s best wide receivers. Brown is huge and strong, while Smith is lean and fast, and both can make acrobatic downfield catches.
Because Ward matches up well with big wide receivers, he will most likely shadow A.J. Brown, like he did D.K. Metcalf last week. Ward held Brown to 28 receiving yards in the NFC Championship game 11 months ago.
That means Hurts will most likely aim to throw to Smith, who is just as effective as Brown and has a much better matchup on paper, since he will face Ambry Thomas.
Thomas is the 49ers’ No. 3 cornerback, and he didn’t get much playing time before the bye week; the 49ers benched him at halfway in Week 1 and kept him on the bench for a few months. He’s back on the field now, playing nickel cornerback, and he’s doing surprisingly well.
Thomas intercepted Seahawks cornerback Geno Smith last week. And Thomas has a passer rating of only 83.5 this season.
Smith will present a significant challenge for Thomas, but they met each other in college four years ago, when Thomas was at Michigan and Smith was at Alabama, and Thomas held Smith to just three catches for 56 yards and one touchdown, which isn’t awful considering Smith won the Heisman Trophy.
If Thomas can hold his own against Smith on Sunday, the 49ers have an excellent chance to win.
