2012 NFC Championship Betting Odds
Carrie Stroup with your 2012 NFC Championship betting odds for this Sunday’s game featuring the Giants vs. 49ers (or if you are Joe Biden, the Giants vs. Giants). Bet this one at Sportsbook.com and receive up to $250 in FREE CASH here.
NEW YORK GIANTS (11-7) at SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (14-3)
Sportsbook.com Line & Total: San Francisco -2.5 & 42
Opening Line & Total: 49ers -2.5 & 45
The Giants try to continue their improbable run when they visit San Francisco in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday.
On Christmas Eve morning, New York was 7-7, having just lost five of six games. But the Giants then ran off four straight victories, including a stunning 37-20 win at 15-1 Green Bay on Sunday. But the task doesn’t get much easier as the 14-3 Niners, who beat the Giants on Nov. 13, await. In that Week 10 matchup, the teams played a back-and-forth affair, with San Francisco scoring two early fourth-quarter touchdowns en route to a 27-20 win. The Giants outgained the 49ers in that game, 395-305. New York QB Eli Manning has won five straight non-home playoff games (SU and ATS), but San Francisco has won seven straight home games (SU and ATS), holding five of those opponents to 10 points or less. The 49ers are simply the better team here, especially on defense. They don’t turn the ball over (NFL record 10 offensive turnovers this season) and their offense showed that they could gain yards both on the ground and through the air last week.
The Giants have benefitted from huge plays during their four-game win streak, with touchdown passes of 99 yards and 74 yards to Victor Cruz, as well as Hakeem Nicks scores of 72 yards, 66 yards and a 37-yard, first-half-ending Hail Mary in Green Bay. In two playoff games, Nicks has 13 receptions for 280 yards and 4 TD, and he also had a 32-yard TD catch in San Francisco in Week 10. Manning had a strong performance against the Niners that day, completing 26-of-40 passes for 311 yards, 2 TD and 2 INT. In his past seven postseason games, Manning has a 6-1 record with 12 TD and just 4 INT. San Francisco ranked 16th in passing defense during the regular season (231 YPG) and allowed the Saints to net 435 yards through the air on Saturday. This certainly bodes well for New York’s pass-happy attack.
The Giants will not likely be running the ball very much on Sunday. They ranked last in the NFL with 89 rushing YPG during the regular season, including being held to 93 yards on 29 carries (3.2 YPC) in San Francisco Week 10. Ahmad Bradshaw didn’t play that game, but he’s been pretty strong this postseason with 126 yards on 26 carries (4.8 YPC), while adding 43 more yards on eight catches. He’ll need to have an extraordinary game though to chew up yards on a 49ers run defense that has allowed just 75 YPG on 3.5 YPC this season.
San Francisco QB Alex Smith is coming off a tremendous performance against the Saints, completing 24-of-42 passes for 299 yards, 3 TD and 0 INT. He also ran for a 28-yard score with 2:11 left to put his team in front. TE Vernon Davis caught two of those touchdowns as part of his monster seven-catch, 180-yard performance, capped off by a game-winning TD catch with nine seconds left in regulation. Davis also caught a 31-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter of the Week 10 matchup that gave San Francisco the lead for good. The duo should have another big afternoon considering New York allowed the fourth-most passing yards in the NFL during the regular season (255 YPG).
But the key to this game could come down to San Francisco controlling the clock with its running game, powered by Frank Gore. The Niners ranked eighth in the NFL in rushing yards (128 YPG), while the Giants allowed 121 rushing YPG (19th in league). Gore was solid against the Saints, rumbling for 89 yards on just 13 carries (6.8 YPC). But he was held in check against New York in Week 10, gaining zero yards on six carries. Backup RB Kendall Hunter rushed for 40 yards on six carries against New York in the November meeting including a 17-yard TD run in the fourth quarter. The rookie Hunter has piled up 172 yards on 34 carries (5.1 YPC) in the past three weeks.
Both teams took advantage of turnovers last week, with San Francisco going +4 against New Orleans, and the Giants sporting a +3 ratio in Green Bay. But the Giants will be hard-pressed to force the Niners into mistakes, as they are coming off a record-setting-low of 10 offensive turnovers for the entire regular season. New York has also done a great job of protecting the football lately with just two total turnovers during its four-game winning streak.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
