As Championship Sunday kick offs, arguably the best team of the season and perhaps the in-form outfit right now, the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers meet at Lincoln Financial Field in the NFC title game.
This will be just the second time the two have met in the post-season, with Philly holding a 10-7 record over the Californians since 1994. The Niners came out on top last time when they met in the early weeks of last season, but the Eagles come into this on the back of a 14-3 season and boast one of the meanest offenses around.
Will the 49ers’ d-line win out or can Nick Sirianni lead his side to within one step of a second Super Bowl win in six years?
On home turf this season, the Eagles have been largely unruffled and Jalen Hurts was dominant if unspectacular in taking down the Giants last weekend. Very much in second gear last time out, a championship game may well see his best and to throw 300+ yds is a very attractive 14/5 with William Hill.
Hurts will be looking to throw past the 49ers stubborn defense, yes, but Philly’s rushing game is just as healthy. Miles Sanders rushed 90 yds last Saturday, but was eclipsed by the second half dashes of Kenneth Gainwell for over 100 yds. So who to turn to here? The answer? Both.
For Sanders to rush over 51.5 yds and Gainwell to reach just 12+, a 13/5 mini acca with Bet365 suits us quite well.
Hurts will be an active element of this game as will both DeVonta Smith and AJ Brown. For both to catch 80+ yds, a 22/5 double with PariMatch feels more than achievable.
If the Eagles are thwarted, defensive end Nick Bosa will be a likely candidate to stop the hosts and as an alternative, a Bosa sack and the 49ers to win fetches a decent price of 9/4 with PaddyPower.
For the Niners, Christian McCaffrey’s game against the Cowboys was impacted due to a slight recurrence of his calf injury, but coach Kyle Shanahan believes his star RB will be firing on all cylinders come the weekend.
Having received more yards than he rushed last time out however, playing safe for McCaffrey to notch over 99 total yards and to score a TD at 9/5 – again with ‘Hills might be the smarter play.
We’re also looking at Deebo Samuel to have another turn after his playoff comeback from injury. Therefore, a combined McCaffrey TD, 55+ receiving yds and 1+ receiving pass for Samuel can be snapped up at 11/4 with 888Sport.
Meanwhile, in the case of Brock Purdy, we just get the feeling that this could be the end of the rookie’s fairy-tale for the season. That does not mean Purdy won’t throw well though, so how about a shot at Purdy 220+ passing yds but 1+ interception? A third trick with William Hill, 21/10 has a nice ring to it.
To round us off, if punters are looking at points, of the two championship games this could spring a surprise and supply the bigger tally so a 5/6 tilt for over 46 points with MatchBook looks suitable.
