NFL - NFC Championship Game Preview

NY Giants (+2.5) at San Francisco

This is a nice surprise. Not many pegged the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers to square off in the NFC Championship. Most thought that it would be the explosive offenses of Green Bay and New Orleans battling for the NFC's berth in the Super Bowl. But defense prevailed. Well, sort of. The offenses for both of these teams had just as much to do with why they are in this position. The Giants and 49ers have had an epic playoff history with each other, and Sunday we will add 1 more chapter.

Both teams were underdogs in the Divisional round games, but came out on top. The Giants battled back and forth with the 15-1 Packers for most of the 1st Half, before Eli Manning connected with Hakeem Nicks on a Hail Mary to end the half and give the Giants a 10-point lead. In the 2nd Half the defensive front harassed Aaron Rodgers and the Giants won going away, 37-20. San Francisco forced 5 New Orleans turnovers to storm out to a 17-0 lead. The Saints fought their way back to set up and ending for the ages. There were 4 lead changes in the final 5 minutes. San Francisco delivered the last blow though, as Alex Smith connected with Vernon Davis with 9 seconds left to give the 49ers the win 36-32. Smith has finally been proving his worth and he now has a chance to be the 1st QB other than Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Steve Young to lead San Francisco to the Super Bowl. Eli is trying to cement his spot amongst the NFL's elite QBs and 1-up his older brother by winning his 2nd Super Bowl ring.

With a win, the Giants will play 1 of the last 2 teams they have met in the Super Bowl. They lost to Baltimore in Super Bowl XXXV and beat New England in Super Bowl XLII. The 49ers have their sights set on their 1st Super Bowl in 17 years. Expect another classic between these 2 teams. That seems to be the norm when the Giants and 49ers meet in the postseason. San Francisco's D has been terrific all season, while the Giants D has stepped it up over the course of the last month. This game will be won at the QB position though. Alex Smith has been solid, but he is not anywhere near the upper echelon of NFL QBs. Eli has proved he does belong in that group. He will finally step out of the shadow of his big bro and set up a rematch of Super Bowl XLII with New England.

Prediction - NY Giants 24 San Francisco 19

Ringer's Playoff Record
ATS: 4-4
SU: 4-4