NFC Championship Game Preview: San Francisco 49ers @ Philadelphia Eagles

After the Divisional Playoffs, we were left with the question of whether or not the New York Giants were that bad or the Philadelphia Eagles were that good. It was a bit of both, but regardless, with the San Francisco 49ers rolling into town, they present Philly with a much tougher roadblock on the path to the Super Bowl.

We can all agree that the two best teams in the conference made it to championship weekend. We’re in for a treat. 

For more trends, line movement, injury updates, player props, picks, and videos on SF at Philly, visit our NFC Championship Game preview page. 

49ers @ Eagles Game Information

• Location: Lincoln Financial Field | Philadelphia, PA
• Time: 3:00 p.m. ET | TV: FOX

San Fran is dealing with injuries after a physical game against Dallas, as Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, and Elijah Mitchell missed practice on Wednesday. Kyle Shanahan is close to the vest on their availability. We’re not fools. They’ll be out there, but it’s something to keep an eye on.

The Eagles come into Sunday with the guarantee that at least 21 of their 22 Week 1 starters will be out there. Corner Avonte Maddox has missed the last three contests and was limited in practice. His availability is a valid question mark. He would provide a boost to an already stout defense. 

49ers @ Eagles Game Odds on FanDuel

• Spread: 49ers +2.5 (-105) | Eagles -2.5 (-115)
• Moneyline: 49ers (+126) | Eagles (-148)
• Total: Over 46.5 (-108) | Under 46.5 (-112)

Brock Purdy is on a magical run and may have already earned himself a starting role in 2023. Good for him. But the Iowa State product doesn’t know what he’s in for after two playoff games in front of his home crowd. The Linc is trench warfare, and no rookie QB has ever reached the Super Bowl.

Jalen Hurts didn’t blow up the stat column last week, but he showed that he was healthy and, more importantly, confident in putting that shoulder on the line. The Eagles were the more impressive team last week, and in their building, I’ll lay the 2.5 with Philly to advance to the Super Bowl.

49ers @ Eagles Prop Picks on FanDuel

 

• Brock Purdy UNDER 218.5 Passing Yards (-114)
• Miles Sanders UNDER 13.5 Rushing Attempts (-114)
• Kenneth Gainwell OVER 11.5 Rushing Yards (-114)
• AJ Brown OVER 72.5 Yards (-114)
• Haason Reddick to Record a Sack + Eagles ML (+155)

The Eagles ran the ball 44 times last week. That won’t happen again. However, Kenneth Gainwell was explosive and ended up with 12 carries for 112 yards. He’s still RB2 to Miles Sanders, but he earned more volume. We’ll correlate Gainwell going OVER with the UNDER on Sanders’s attempts.

Let me take you back to Week 1, when DeVonta Smith did not register a target. His disappearance made noise, and he hauled in seven receptions the following week. Now, there’s buzz about AJ Brown being unhappy despite last week’s victory due to his lack of touches. We expect Brown to get the ball early and often to get his rhythm going. Back his OVER. 

All the Nick Bosa love is warranted, but it would be a mistake to overlook Haason Reddick. He recorded 16 sacks in the regular season and 1.5 last week. Snubbed as a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year, Reddick has no shortage of motivation. FanDuel offers an attractive boost to parlay a Reddick sack with a Birds win that we’ll be playing.

With a pass rush that continually gets home and elite corners, I’m expecting defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon to shut down Purdy. The Niners should establish the run early with CMC and keep the ball out of the air. We’re with Danny on fading Purdy, join us and take the UNDER.  

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