NFL Playoff Predictions: Why the San Francisco 49ers Will Defeat the Giants

The San Francisco 49ers are the most unlikely team to have made it to a conference championship game this year.

They're coming off of a 6-10 2010 season, they have a new head coach who couldn't even contact his team for most of 2011 because of the lockout and of course, there's quarterback Alex Smith, who has spent his time in San Francisco being labeled a bust.

However, things came together for the Niners this year. That new head coach, Jim Harbaugh, managed to turn his team around drastically, and they ended the regular season with a 13-3 record and the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs.

Quarterback Alex Smith is having the best season of his career, throwing 17 touchdowns to just five interceptions. His three touchdowns in the Niners' win over the New Orleans Saints in the divisional round proved that he can hold his own in a shootout with the league's best offense.

But the best thing that San Francisco has going for them this year is its defense, and that defense will be a primary reason the team defeats the New York Giants in the NFC championship game on Sunday.

San Francisco's defense was more than impressive in the win over the Saints, picking off quarterback Drew Brees twice and forcing three fumbles, all of which they recovered.

They held the Saints receivers to very few yards after catch through most of the day, and though they stumbled at times, giving up two passing touchdowns in both the second and fourth quarters, they allowed New Orleans just 37 rushing yards on the day.

With Giants quarterback Eli Manning on fire in the playoffs, throwing for a total of 607 yards for six touchdowns and just one interception in his two games, the Niners will have to hold fast and not allow Manning to continue his hot streak.

The 49ers defense is excellent at putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks, however, and they're also the league leaders in forced turnovers. They notched three sacks on Brees last week and hit him 11 more times, and their defenders seem to blow through opposing offensive linemen with ease.

Manning has been sacked just twice in the playoffs, a testament to his strong offensive line and his ability to get the ball out before being hit. However, he has yet to face a defense like this in the playoffs, and it's going to be a struggle for him to stay upright on Sunday.

Manning isn't entirely unfamiliar with what San Francisco's defense brings to the table; the two teams met at Candlestick Park in Week 11, with the Giants losing 27-20.

In that game, the Niners picked Manning off twice and sacked him once, while the Giants managed two sacks of Smith and one interception.

What made the difference in that game was the Niners' special teams. San Francisco has had trouble scoring touchdowns when in the red zone and have settled for a field goal more than any other team in the league this year.

Kicker David Akers has been extremely accurate, even from long distances. His four field goals in the two teams' first meeting mattered just as much—if not more—as Smith's two touchdown passes.

Manning may be a better quarterback than Smith, and the Giants may field a strong defense of their own, but New York won't be able to stop San Francisco on Sunday.

The 49ers defense, their reliable quarterback and the conference-best special teams unit will prove to be too much for the Giants to handle, and one of the NFL's most surprising teams this year will find themselves taking the field in Indianapolis as the NFC's representative in the Super Bowl.