Giants vs 49ers Predictions: Alex Smith Will Crumble Against Giants' Pass Rush

The New York Giants will leave San Francisco on Sunday with a berth in Super Bowl XLVI because their fantastic pass rush will make life miserable for 49ers quarterback Alex Smith.

The Giants' pass rush caused a lot of problems for Green Bay Packers quarterback and likely NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers on Sunday, sacking him four times and forcing an interception.

Rodgers' 264 passing yards was his fourth fewest total of the season and, despite having several elite receivers, he was unable to solve the Giants defense.

Let's be honest, the Giants made Rodgers look bad on Sunday. He only completed 26 of 46 passes for 264 yards with only two touchdowns and an interception. That's miserable for someone of Rodgers' caliber in a playoff game.

Against a much weaker quarterback in Alex Smith, the Giants will find it easier to rattle and disrupt the timing of the inexperienced 49ers quarterback.

The 49ers offensive line allowed four sacks to a Saints pass rush that is far weaker than the Giants' and, with guys like Jason Pierre-Paul and the resurgent Osi Umenyiora coming after Smith often, the 49ers won't be able to consistently protect their quarterback.

Give Smith credit for his team's huge win over the Saints, he made some clutch plays to win the game in the final minutes.

But this Giants defense is playing their best football of the season right now and have more confidence in their offense's ability to score points than they did in 2007 when they won the Super Bowl.

Knowing that quarterback Eli Manning is more than capable of putting up a lot of points helps the Giants defense relax and takes some of the pressure off them.

It's quite possible that Manning could find a lot of success against the 49ers pass defense and get the Giants an early lead. If the 49ers do fall down by 10 or more points early, Smith will have to make plays in the clutch again.

If he's forced to throw because the 49ers are trying to make a comeback, the Giants will smother him with pressure in the pocket and not allow him the time needed to find play-makers such as tight end Vernon Davis.

When the two team's met in San Francisco back in Week 10, Smith threw for only 242 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Two Manning interceptions really hurt the Giants in that game, but with him playing much better of late, I don't envision Eli being the problem for New York on Sunday.

Against the best pass rush in football, Alex Smith will crumble on Sunday and so will his team's chances of making the Super Bowl.

The Giants are playing inspiring football right now and are the most confidence team in the playoffs. The reason for that is because their pass rush makes opposing team's quarterbacks struggle to find success consistently.

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