Giants vs. 49ers: Why This Game Will Be Even Better Than 49ers vs. Saints

The San Francisco 49ers-New Orleans Saints divisional playoff matchup was easily one of the greatest postseason games ever to have been played. However, the NFC championship game in which the 49ers are set to host the New York Giants has every reason to be even better.

The Giants have more balance on both sides of the ball than the Saints did. Though New Orleans was different than the other pass-dependent offenses in that they run the ball often and well, the Saints still have a porous defense that has given up a ton of yards and points this season.

Not so with the Giants. Though they ranked 29th in defending the pass during the regular season, giving up just over 255 yards per game, they held the Atlanta Falcons to just 183 passing yards in their wild card game against the team and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers to a low-for-him 264 in their divisional round win.

The Giants defense just keeps getting better with every game they play and are certainly coming into San Francisco with palpable momentum.

However, the Niners are just as on fire as the Giants and boast an even better defense. Though they ultimately gave up nearly 500 yards of offense—with 462 coming directly from the arm of Saints quarterback Drew Brees—they had constant pressure on Brees all day and seemingly gave up almost no yards after catch on 90 percent of the pass plays they defended.

On offense, the advantage appears to go the Giants' way, with quarterback Eli Manning throwing for nearly 5,000 yards in the regular season and putting up 607 passing yards, six touchdowns and a lone interception in his two playoffs games this year.

His San Francisco counterpart, Alex Smith, has had the best year of his career this season, but his numbers still overall pale in comparison to Manning's. However, he did throw three touchdown passes and ran in for a score against the Saints, albeit the Saints field a far more porous defense than New York does.

Smith has managed to step up when asked, however, and he threw no picks against the Saints in their win. He has just five interceptions on the year, and it appears that now that he's finally comfortable in an offensive system, he's been able to develop into a true game-managing quarterback, one who isn't called that as an insult.

It's no secret that it's hard to run against the Niners defense; in the regular season, they were giving up just 77.3 rushing yards per game, and they allowed the Saints to run for just 37 yards.

The Giants were last in the league in average run yards in the regular season, and though they had 172 yards on the ground against the Falcons, they had only 95 against the Packers.

All signs are pointing to New York sticking with passing the football when on offense, but with playoff games like we've seen already, it's hard to say that the Giants won't look to run the ball more than expected, even against a defense like San Francisco's.

The Giants are stronger, all around than the Saints, and it's clear that the 49ers are far stronger than anyone had expected after their win over New Orleans.

We now know that quarterback Smith can hold his own in a shootout against one of the highest-powered offenses in the league, and we know that the Giants can stop a seemingly invincible Packers squad on their home turf.

The more unpredictable the playoff game, the more compelling it becomes. Both the Giants and the Niners have so much going for them, as well as so many unknowns that it's hard to think about this game and be indifferent to its intricacies and its outcome.

While it seems presumptuous to say that a game that has yet to occur will be an instant classic, the very nature of this week's NFC championship game makes it hard not to feel that way.

If the Niners beating the Saints was the highlight of the divisional round, I see the Niners hosting the Giants as being the highlight of the entire 2011 NFL season.