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I was on my way to dinner with friends on Christmas Eve when my westbound K Ingleside train was turned back at West Portal without explanation. I waited for the next train. It was turned back too. I asked one of the Muni drivers what was going on, and he said no M Ocean View or K Ingleside trains were running past the station.

I guessed it had something to do with the weather—the rain was coming down in sheets. I realized getting an Uber or Lyft at the station, with everybody else doing the same thing, probably wasn’t going to work. I had a good umbrella and rain coat so I started to walk down West Portal Avenue, ducking under awnings as I looked for a good spot to call a Lyft.

I didn’t get far before I saw why the trains were stopped, as seen in the lead photo.

I don’t know exactly how this blundering driver managed to bottom out his car on the barrier between the tracks. But, for me, it symbolized everything that’s wrong with San Francisco’s auto-uber-alles policies that continue to put the needs of individual drivers above buses and trains full of people. Mayor Lurie reiterated San Francisco’s supposed transit-first policy in his end-of-year directive. But if it’s a transit-first city, why are motorists still prioritized and permitted to drive on busy train tracks in the first place?

Why isn’t the barrier in West Portal positioned to keep drivers from using the tracks, as it was historically? Why do we even have pavement on the tracks? And why haven’t we banned drivers from using West Portal Avenue and Ulloa Street as thoroughfares in the first place, where they regularly interfere with and delay trains?

I should have stopped walking and summoned a Lyft. But being forced by the shitty politics of San Francisco, combined with a shitty driver, to call yet another car, pissed me off. I thought about all the people who got off those trains who can’t afford to call a ride-hail. I thought about the hundreds of people trapped inside trains that were stuck between stations. I continued walking and thinking about all the times I’ve visited Europe and been through similarly busy, vibrant merchant corridors such as West Portal with one major difference: no cars.

Yes, even on “car-free” streets in Europe, typically cars and delivery vehicles can still cross and access the shops directly for deliveries. But some streets are just not meant to be a motoring free-for-all. Anybody who doubts that merchants flourish in car-free and car-lite environments should either get a passport, or they should take a look at the merchant receipts after a Sunday Streets event. On the other hand, Papenhausen Hardware, which helped block a safety plan that prioritized transit movements through West Portal, went out of business anyway in 2024.

As I walked in the driving rain, my thoughts drifted to 2024’s tragedy, in which a reckless driver wiped out a family of four when she crashed onto a sidewalk in West Portal. San Francisco had an opportunity to finally implement a transit-first project and prevent a future tragedy by banning most drivers from the tracks and preventing them from using West Portal as a cut through. And yet, a supposedly safe-streets ally, Supervisor Myrna Melgar, aligned with a subset of the merchants in West Portal and sabotaged the project.

Since then, I’m aware of at least one other incident in West Portal where an errant driver went up on the sidewalk and hit a building. Thankfully, there wasn’t a family in the way that time. Either way, West Portal Avenue, and a whole lot of other streets that have hosted horrible tragedies, are still as dangerous as ever thanks to the lack of political commitment and an unwillingness to change.

I finally got to my friends’ house, 35 minutes later. They loaned me some dry clothes and put my jeans in the dryer. We had a lovely meal and a great time. My friend drove me to BART for an uneventful trip home (not that BART is always impervious to driver insanity).

In 2026, advocates, allies, and friends, we all need to raise the bar and find a way to make sure politicians follow through on transit first, Vision Zero, and making San Francisco safe. Because the half-assed improvements made in West Portal and elsewhere aren’t enough. And the status quo isn’t working.

On a closely related note, be sure to sign this petition, demanding that SFMTA finish the transit-only lanes on Ocean Avenue.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the San Francisco 49ers, the Eagles’ first-round opponent in the playoffs?

“Got to stop their run, Christian McCaffrey,” Brandon Graham said.

It is where the game plan and film review starts for good reason. McCaffrey was second in the NFL during the regular season in yards from scrimmage with 2,126 (1,202 rushing yards, 924 receiving yards). The sixth-seeded 49ers next Sunday will bring to Lincoln Financial Field (4:30 p.m., Fox29) a high-powered offense with McCaffrey as the focal point, and a defense that is nothing like the one that helped San Francisco reach four NFC title games — and two Super Bowls — during a five-season stretch from 2019 to 2023.

Reactions from the Eagles inside their locker room after they fell, 24-17, to the Washington Commanders in their regular-season finale were pretty similar.

Graham didn’t know who the Eagles were playing until reporters told him. He had other things to worry about during the course of Sunday’s game since he dressed and played. But Reed Blankenship and Zack Baun, two defensive starters who had the night off, each expressed a similar mindset: “It doesn’t matter who we play,” Blankenship said. “We’re all excited. A lot of us had a week off and we’re ready to play. I feel like that was the best decision that coach made and I feel fresh. We don’t know when we’re going to play them, but whatever day it is, they got to come over here and come back to Philly.”

Said Baun: “It’s a big game. It’s the postseason. It’s the playoffs, and this team definitely turns it on in the playoffs.”

The Eagles and 49ers have some recent history. A mini rivalry of sorts formed after the Eagles blew out the banged-up 49ers in the NFC title game, 31-7, during their run to the Super Bowl at the end of the 2022 season. The 49ers exacted revenge just over 10 months later in a 42-19 victory that kick-started the Eagles’ miserable collapse to finish the 2023 season.

» READ MORE: Eagles’ first playoff loss was to karma. Next up: the 49ers.

During that latter game, McCaffrey rushed 17 times for 93 yards and a touchdown and added three catches for 40 yards.

“Christian McCaffrey is a dog,” Blankenship said. “We played them in ‘23 and then obviously in ‘22, so I played them twice. They have a really good offensive core and obviously it’s going to be a challenge. It’s the playoffs. Everybody is good. It’s going to be good on good. It’s win or go home, but we’re ready. We’re prepared for that. We’ve been through that.”

DeVonta Smith said the playoff opener is “just another game, but it’s the playoffs. We don’t want to go home, so everybody’s going to have a little more oomph.”

The 49ers have been bringing the oomph. They were 6-4 through 10 weeks and then won six consecutive games before falling, 13-3, Saturday night at home to Seattle against one of the best defenses in the NFL. They are 7-2 in games quarterback Brock Purdy has started.

The Eagles will likely be leaning on Saturday’s low-output offensive effort from the 49ers as they prepare for their first postseason matchup. Like top-seeded Seattle, the Eagles have one of the best defenses in the league, and while the Eagles’ offense has been inconsistent, San Francisco’s strength isn’t its defense. The 49ers gave up 38 points to Chicago last week and needed a red-zone stand to keep their hopes alive for the No. 1 seed. The Eagles, who opened as 3½-point favorites, probably feel their ability to take care of the ball and play good defense is the recipe for a win.

“We just got to be us and bring the energy,” Graham said. “Play fast on defense and put the offense in a great position. It’s going to be [about] field position in that game.

“I know the 49ers are going to definitely come here and try to get one on our field and we got to defend it.”

Blankenship and Baun both said they felt rested and ready for the postseason run. It was the obvious topic of conversation after the Eagles lost and missed out on a chance to secure the No. 2 seed in the conference. The Eagles chose rest over the possibility of moving up a spot, and Blankenship said he wasn’t going to look back with any regrets.

Nick Sirianni talked earlier in the week about his decision, and one of the things he pointed to was the Eagles resting their starters in Week 18 last season and entering the postseason healthy and rested.

Last season’s playoff run ended with a Lombardi Trophy and a parade on Broad Street. Why, despite the ups and downs, might this team have another run in them?

“I think we’re really ramping it up,” Baun said. “I feel like we’re in a good position as a team, as a collective. Especially as a defense, we’re playing really good football right now.”

It all starts next weekend.

“It’s a big game,” Baun said. “It’s the postseason. It’s the playoffs, and this team definitely turns it on in the playoffs.”

The Philadelphia Eagles will begin the playoffs against the San Francisco 49ers in the wild-card round next weekend at Lincoln Financial Field. 

The Birds (No. 3 seed) had a chance to earn the No. 2 seed with a win, but lost to the Washington Commanders in the regular season finale. 

Here’s what you need to know about the matchup vs. the 49ers and more.

Which day will the Eagles and 49ers play?

The date and time of the wild-card round matchup between the Eagles and 49ers have yet to be announced, but playoff games are scheduled for Saturday, Sunday and Monday. 

Two games will take place Saturday, three will happen Sunday and the final first-round matchup will be on Monday night. 

Eagles and 49ers postseason history

The Eagles and 49ers have only met twice in postseason history, most recently in the NFC championship game in the 2022 season. 

The Eagles won that game, 31-7, before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII. In that game, the 49ers were decimated at quarterback as Brock Purdy and Josh Johnson suffered injuries. 

After Johnson exited, Purdy returned to the game in the third quarter, but he was unable to throw the football beyond a few yards. The injuries to San Francisco’s quarterbacks led to the NFL approving a rule change that allows teams to play an emergency quarterback if the starter and backup are injured.

The Eagles are 1-1 vs. San Francisco all-time in the playoffs. Philadelphia’s loss to the 49ers in the playoffs happened in the wild-card round in 1996.

The title game in the 2022 season between the Eagles and 49ers started a rivalry that boiled over into 2023.

In 2023, the 49ers traveled to Lincoln Financial Field in Week 13 and dominated the Eagles, 42-19. The loss started the infamous collapse for the Eagles to end the season as the Birds lost six of the final seven games, including the playoff exit vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

The loss to the Niners in the 2023 season also featured Eagles security chief Dom DiSandro and then-49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw being ejected from the game after a scuffle on the sideline.

The Eagles and 49ers haven’t played each other since the 2023 season. 

How the Eagles and 49ers got here

The Eagles went 11-6 in the 2025 season and won the NFC East for the second consecutive year, which ended a 20-year stretch of the division not having a repeat winner.

The Niners had a chance to earn the No. 1 seed, but fell to the Seattle Seahawks Saturday night. The 49ers finished the year with a 12-5 record to earn the No. 6 seed.