NFC Championship Game Preview: New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

When the teams met in November, the then one-loss 49ers hosted a proven 6-2 New York Giants squad in what many regarded as San Francisco's first real test of the season. The Jim Harbaugh-led Niners edged the Giants, 27-20, in a thriller at Candlestick, but this Sunday's high stakes NFC Championship Game should prove to be another contest for the ages.

Who will have the upper hand this time?

The Passing Game

Eli Manning leads a relentless New York Giants pass attack
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Alex Smith and Vernon Davis did their best Joe Montana to Dwight Clark impressions in last week's pseudo-catch to beat the Saints, but the focal point of the Giants offense is their passing game.

Pro Bowler Eli Manning finished the regular season with a resounding 4,933 passing yards and Hakeem Nicks is having a Larry Fitzgerald-like postseason with 280 yards and four touchdowns through two games. Explosive playmaking wideout Victor Cruz always adds a dangerous dimension to New York's aerial assault as well.

 

Edge: Giants

The Ground Attack

Pro Bowler Frank Gore finished the regular season ranked 6th in rushing with 1,211 yards.
Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

The G-Men ranked last in the league in rushing averaging with just 89.2 yards per contest. The playoffs have been a different story for New York, though, with the team racking up 167 yards on the ground through two games. Bruiser Brandon Jacobs and the elusive Ahmad Bradshaw provide a dangerous one, two punch for the team and the offensive line led by guard Chris Snee is much tougher than Packers nose tackle B.J. Raji gives them credit for.

However, Frank Gore didn't earn his third trip to the Pro Bowl by any means of a fluke. The former Miami Hurricane finished the regular season with 1,211 yards in the league's eighth-ranked rush offense and looked sharp last week against the Saints with 89 yards on 13 carries. Kendall Hunter spells him out of the backfield and is a solid change of pace back. And who can forget the effort Pro Bowl tackle Joe Staley showed with his lead block to spring Alex Smith's 28-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter last week?

The Giants run game is peaking, but the 49ers are more polished on the ground. It is the playoffs though, and sometimes the hotter team comes out on top.

 

Edge: Even

Pass Defense

Many consider Justin Smith a frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year.
Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

Both teams feature solid pass defenses. Albeit the 49ers secondary, highlighted by Pro Bowlers Carlos Rodgers and hard-hitting Dashon Goldson, narrowly bests the likes of Giants safety Antrel Rolle and cover corner Aaron Ross.

All-Pros Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora and Pro Bowler Justin Pierre-Paul provide the Giants with a slight advantage pressuring the quarterback, but the Niners shouldn't have any problems penetrating the backfield with the likes of Pro Bowl defensive end Justin Smith, Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate Aldon Smith and outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks coming off the tackles.

 

Edge: 49ers

Stuffing the Run

The 49ers have one of the best run stopping units in NFL history.
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

In plain terms, the 49ers have one of the most revered run-stopping units in league history. Not allowing a rushing touchdown until Week 16 against Marshawn Lynch and the Seahawks, the Niners allowed just one 100-yard rusher all season.

Last week's bout with the Saints was no different, when the stingy San Francisco defense gave up just 37 yards on the ground. All-Pro Patrick Willis and team leading tackler Navorro Bowman read opposing offensives impeccably and establishing any sort of potent running attack on the 49ers is a tough one at best.

 

Edge: 49ers

Coaching

Harbaugh edged Coughlin the first time around. The two exhanged a pleasant postgame handshake.
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Both Jim Harbaugh and Tom Coughlin have led their teams to improbable playoff runs, and both of these coaches have a unique hard-nosed, culture-instilling style that seems to echo through their respected franchises.

Coughlin and his staff have the advantage of a prior Super Bowl run in 2008, but Harbaugh and company have already drawn up a successful game plan to beat the Giants.

This one might be too close to call.

 

Edge: Even

Prediction

The 49ers haven't appeared in a Super Bowl since 1994. Could this be their year?
Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

This NFC Championship Game should be a battle of epic proportions. The 49ers will have the Bay Area rocking with another home game at Candlestick, but the G-Men have played dominant football the past two weeks and proved they could steal a win anywhere last week by beating the Packers at Lambeau.

Still, there is something about this 49ers team that gives them a sense of identity. Maybe it's the Harbaugh swagger. Maybe it's the Tony Montana kickoff squad or the new resolve of Alex Smith. Maybe it's the "Who's got it better than us?" catchphrase.

The postseason is all about momentum, and neither team is lacking in that category. However, the Niners just seem like 'that' team destined for success.

Prediction:

49ers 32, Giants 30