NFC Championship: Predicting Stars, Score and Stats for Giants vs. 49ers

The NFC Championship Game promises to be a hard-hitting, defensive affair. With all the talking between both the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Giants this week, I fully expect some blood to be spilled at Candlestick this afternoon. 

That said, there is a nice amount of skill on the offensive side of the ball in this game. Eli Manning has a three-headed monster on the outside in Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz and Mario Manningham. They have also found some resemblance of a running game over the last month. 

The San Francisco 49ers might not have the "sexy" players New York has, but their skill position areas are filled with dynamic playmakers as well. By now it is well documented that Vernon Davis is a primary target in this offense, but Michael Crabtree has come up big this season despite a disappointing performance against the Saints.

San Francisco's primary objective in this game will be to run the ball early with Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter. If they are able to do this, New York will be in trouble. 

This morning I am going to give you my predictions for the game, including the final score, player statistics and overall statistics. Of course, this isn't an exact science and is incredibly subjective, but I will explain these statistics rather than just throw them out there.

The Quarterbacks

Eli Manning: 26/41, 317 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, four sacks and a 83.1 quarterback rating

Eli Manning is averaging 218 yards and has thrown nine touchdowns compared to just two interceptions in his five postseason road starts. Some would ask why I have him throwing for nearly 100 yards more and equaling his interception total this afternoon.

Well it really is simple: his opponent.

San Francisco has yielded five 300-yard games so far this season, including against Drew Brees last week. However, they have intercepted opposing quarterbacks at least twice in 10 of the 17 games they have played this season, including against Eli Manning in November. You also have to realize that San Francisco has forced a total of 20 turnovers in their last six home games.  

With the field conditions the way they are expected to be coupled in great part with a ball-hawking San Francisco 49ers defense, there is a recipe for Manning to throw multiple interceptions. 

Alex Smith: 19/31, 246 yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions, four sacks and a 107.7 quarterback rating.

Alex Smith has thrown a total of three interceptions in his last 13 home starts, winning 12 of them. His level of mistake-free football just recently set a franchise record for most consecutive pass attempts without an interception. 

Despite facing tremendous pressure from the New Orleans Saints last weekend, Smith made extremely good decisions and did not force the ball. He will not throw for more yards than Eli, because that is not what the 49ers are looking for. Instead, you are going to see another solid performance from the emerging signal caller. 

The Running Backs

Frank Gore: 23 rushes, 91 yards, 4.0 average, one touchdown, four receptions, 43 yards and zero touchdowns.

While Frank Gore is only averaging slightly over 60 yards rushing over the course of his last nine games, he has the ability to be a key cog for the San Francisco 49ers today. A lot of his lack of success during that span had to do with stubborn injuries that kept popping up. This started against the New York Giants in November, a game in which Gore would sit out the entire second half. 

When healthy, Gore is still an elite running back. With Alex Smith stepping it up a great deal over the course of the last few games, New York will not be able to stack the box with eight players. This means that Gore is going to have more holes to run through. 

That said, don't expect No. 21 to run through the New York Giants defense this afternoon. He will get his yardage, but its going to have to be earned. 

Brandon Jacobs: 11 rushes, 33 yards, 3.0 average, zero touchdowns.

Jacobs can definitely talk a really good game, but he hasn't played up to par this season when healthy. The Giants running back is averaging less than four yards per carry this season. He is also the type of runner that San Francisco defense loves to stop. Outside of a single performance by Marshawn Lynch on Christmas Eve, the 49ers have come up big against larger running backs. 

They allowed a total of 248 rushing yards in five games against Steven Jackson, Rashard Mendenhall, LeGarrette Blount and Jacobs this season, less than 50 yards per game. Expect much of the same today. 

Ahmad Bradshaw: seven rushes, 23 yards, 3.3 average, zero touchdowns

Now, Ahmad Bradshaw should probably scare the San Francisco 49ers a little more than Brandon Jacobs today. He is extremely shifty and can get away from would-be tacklers. This could be magnified in the slippery conditions at Candlestick Park. 

That is definitely something to watch.

However, New York will attempt to pound the run early with Jacobs. If they are unable to be successful doing that, they are probably going to turn to the passing game rather than hand the ball off to Bradshaw 15-20 times. His yardage total will be minimized because of the way the game moves along.

The Tight Ends

Vernon Davis: four receptions, 45 yards and zero touchdowns.

No. 85 will not go off like he did last week; this I can pretty much guarantee. The reason for this is the fact that New York will be double teaming him all day long in an attempt to force another San Francisco 49ers skill position player to beat them. 

There is no way that Antrel Rolle or Michael Boley can cover Davis one on one. Instead, you are going to see a lot of packages that double him up the middle and down the seam. This could benefit other 49er players on the outside, who are going to face one-on-one coverage.

Delanie Walker: three receptions, 42 yards and one touchdowns. 

The last pass that Delanie Walker caught was against these very same New York Giants back in November. In fact, he was the 49ers' leading receiver that day.

This doesn't mean that Walker cannot catch the ball. He is an extremely talented skill position player. However, San Francisco decided to utilize him more in pass protection and run blocking down the stretch. They will not have the benefit of doing that today with the Giants focusing on taking Vernon Davis out of the game.

Fear not 49ers fans, Walker is more than capable of doing his fair share of damage. A broken jaw in the 49ers Christmas Eve win against the Seattle Seahawks has sidelined him for the last two games, but I fully expect Walker to be back. 

Jake Ballard: four receptions, 48 yards and zero touchdowns. 

The Giants tight end has had a real breakthrough sophomore season. Ballard had over 600 yards receiving this season on just 38 receptions, meaning that he can stretch the field between the hashes.

Just don't expect that to happen this afternoon. San Francisco has gone up against some of the elite tight ends in the entire league and pretty much stopped them on a dime. While Jimmy Graham did have that one huge catch last weekend, the 49ers did do a decent job keeping him out of his "zone."

Overall, I would expect Ballard to have a decent, but not big game going up against Donte Whitner, Dashon Goldson and the two All-Pro San Francisco linebackers.

The Receivers

Hakeem Nicks: nine receptions, 126 yards and one touchdown. 

This is a player that has come up big time for the New York Giants in the playoffs and you can expect that to continue this afternoon. While he will probably be going up against a mix of Carlos Rogers and Tarell Brown, you can expect the latter to be on him most of the time. 

This is where the New York Giants have a huge advantage in the passing game. While Brown has improved a great deal in 2011, he still cannot go up against a talented player like Nicks and expect to shut him down. 

Of course, weather conditions could play a vital role in the success of Nicks in the passing game. 

Victor Cruz: four receptions, 78 yards and one touchdown. 

Carlos Rogers really shut Cruz down big time in their first matchup. The breakout wide receiver had six catches for 84 yards, but Rogers intercepted two Manning passes that went in Cruz's direction. 

You can really expect this to be an important matchup in this game. Considering the play of Carlos Rogers in his first season with San Francisco and the fact that Cruz has struggled in the first two playoff games, I believe the advantage goes to the defensive player on this one. 

Michael Crabtree: seven receptions, 102 yards and one touchdown. 

The third year player from Texas Tech has really stepped his game up in 2012. He is now by all accounts a No. 1 type of receiver. Despite catching a touchdown last week against New Orleans, Crabtree did struggle a great deal: he dropped at least two passes by my estimation. 

This will need to change today if the San Francisco 49ers are to win this game. 

With the Giants' added concentration on Vernon Davis up the middle, Crabtree will be seeing a ton of single coverage. New York doesn't have really good cover corners, which works to his advantage. Expect Alex Smith to go in Crabtree's direction early and often. If so, he will have a really good game.

Final Score Prediction

Final Score

New York Giants: 17

San Francisco 49ers: 27

Aided by the weather conditions and being able to force turnovers, the San Francisco 49ers will be preparing for Indianapolis following today's NFC Championship bout with the New York Giants. 

The game will be relatively well played despite the conditions, but two Eli Manning interceptions will spell doom for the New York Giants. It will be one of the most physical games of the season as both defenses will look to knock the collective hell out of their opposition. However, the likes of Patrick Willis, NaVorro Bowman, Justin Smith, Dashon Goldson and Donte Whitner will get it done.

You cannot discount the fact that this game is going to be played at Candlestick Park, where the 49ers have been nothing less than extraordinary this season. The fans will create a major advantage for home-standing San Francisco.

New York relies heavily on the down-field passing game, which will be hampered by what are expected to be 15-20 mile-per-hour winds. They ranked dead last in the NFL in rushing and are going up against the best rushing defense in the entire league. 

One the other side of the field, San Francisco has a damn good running game, so the weather conditions will probably not affect them all too much. Additionally, their offense relies on yards after the catch, not stretching the field. 

In the end, San Francisco will tie the Pittsburgh Steelers with their sixth Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.