Conference Championship Betting: Host Eagles Open as the Favorite Against Red-Hot 49ers

Running Backs Could Steal The Show in NFC Championship Game

Then there were two…

The pretenders have been separated from the contenders and now it is the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles meeting on Sunday with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. The conference championship betting odds have the Eagles favored to win at home and snap San Francisco’s 12-game winning streak.

When the NFL season started, neither the Philadelphia Eagles nor the San Francisco 49ers were the top pick in their own division to win the Super Bowl. However, they are the last two teams standing in the NFC.

The 49ers had the fourth-best odds among the NFC teams to win the Super Bowl as they were priced at +1600. The Eagles opened the season at +2200.

The teams haven’t met in the postseason since 1996 when the host 49ers won 14-0 as a 10.5-point favorite.

Defense Never Rests

It wasn’t the most impressive offensive showing of the season for the 49ers with the lone touchdown for San Francisco coming on a short Christian McCaffrey scoring run on the first play of the fourth quarter.

However, rookie quarterback Brock Purdy didn’t throw an interception while Dak Prescott of Dallas had two picks than led to a pair of field goals.

Eli Mitchell had his most carries (14) since a mid-November game against the Los Angeles Chargers so both Mitchell and McCaffrey could form a 1-2 punch against the Eagles.

The real key came on the other side of the ball. the 49ers held Dallas to 282 yards of total offense and just 5 of 15 conversions on third down. Still, the conference championship betting odds list the 49ers as the underdog.

Fred Warner led the way with nine tackles.

Hurts Looks Ready

Heading into the Philadelphia Eagles‘ matchup with their NFC East rival New York Giants, there were plenty of questions about Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. It wasn’t so much a case of whether he would play, but more of a case of how aggressive he would be running the ball.

Early in the game, it became evident that if Hurts’ banged-up shoulder was bothering him, he wasn’t going to let it change the way he plays. That is one reason why the conference championship betting odds favor the Eagles.

He took an early hit on a run in the red zone as he threw for two scores and ran for another in the 38-7 win.

The Eagles ran for 268 yards in the convincing victory. It seems unlikely that Philadelphia will approach that rushing total against a ferocious San Francisco defense.

However, Kenneth Gainwell likely grabbed a larger role in the offensive game plan after rushing for 112 yards on 12 carries.

Defensive end Josh Sweat was another of the ailing Eagles heading into the divisional round of the playoffs. He not only played, he had 1.5 sacks as did Haason Reddick.

The Eagles led the NFL in sacks during the regular NFL season and will look to make things uncomfortable for Purdy.

Injury Update

The main player from the 49ers to keep an eye on is cornerback Ambry Thomas. He is dealing with an ankle injury and is questionable for Sunday’s game.

Like the 49ers, most of the NFL injuries of this week, for the Eagles have players listed as out.

What to Know

When looking at the NFC Championship Game odds, the line opened with the Eagles favored by 2.5 points. Based on the early action, it could headed to three sooner rather than later. The total opened at 45.5 and has already moved to 46.5.

The Eagles are 8-2 at home (7-3 against the spread) while the 49ers are 5-3 on the road (4-4 against the spread).

San Francisco has covered in nine of its last 10 NFL games, but just two of the last 10 versus the Eagles. Philadelphia has covered in just one of the last five contests.

The last time the No. 1 and 2 seeds met in the NFC championship game came following the 2019 season when the top-seeded 49ers topped the No. 2-seeded Green Bay Packers 37-20.

The visiting team has won six of the last nine matchups between the Eagles and the 49ers. Each of the last four games between the teams finished under the total.

The last time the teams met came in 2021 when the visiting 49ers won 17-11 as a three-point favorite. Nick Bosa had two sacks as the 49ers held Hurts to less than 200 passing yards.

This will be the ninth time since the playoffs following the 2005 season when the No. 1 and 2 seeds meet in the NFC championship game.

The top-seeded team in 7-2 in those games. The Eagles and 49ers have been involved in four of those matchups with each team going 2-0. The Eagles were the top seed both times while the 49ers won three years against Green Bay as the No. 1 seed and in 2013 versus Atlanta Falcons as the No. 2 seed.

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