NFC Championship on line: San Francisco 49ers ready to host New York Giants – NFL Playoff Preview
The pool of 16 teams in the National Football Conference (NFC) has been shrunken down to two and no one can now argue the fact that the competition is narrowed down to the best teams after the rest were filtered out at different stages of the National Football
League (NFL) playoffs.
To prove who is better, San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants are going to face-off at the Candlestick Park on Sunday, January 22, 2012.
49ers’ run in the season
The 49ers started the season as underdogs in the NFC West Division. Against all odds, the first-year coach, Jim Harbaugh, led the side impressively and the 49ers ended up as the division leaders at the end of the regular season after winning 13 out of 16
games.
They entered the playoffs as a second seeded team and earned a first-week bye along with a home-field advantage.
In the divisional round, the 49ers played against the deadly New Orleans Saints, whose offence is one of the league’s best.
But the Saints, like most of the teams in the league, could not get past the sturdy 49ers’ defence.
Although the Saints scored 32 points, which is an unlikely giveaway by the 49ers, the hosts scored the final touchdown in the last minute of the final quarter to win the game.
Here’s what Giants’ coach, Tom Coughlin, has to say about the 49ers:
“The 49ers have played extremely well all year long, they have rushed the ball, they have played outstanding defence, their quarterback came up with huge plays in the game the other day to help his team win”.
Giants’ run in the season
The Giants did not live up to the expectations at the start of the season and their journey in the NFC East division was nothing less than a roller coaster ride.
However, they began to get over their flaws as the season progressed by winning three of their last four games in the regular season to get a one-game advantage over Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles, qualifying for the postseason with a total of nine
victories.
The Giants displayed a surprisingly remarkable improvement in their performance during the postseason.
At first, they defeated Atlanta Falcons (24-2) and earned a matchup with the defending Super Bowl champions, Green Bay Packers, which like the Saints, were one of the best offensive sides in the league.
Much to the surprise of many, the Giants outsmarted the Packers (37-20) and advanced to the next level where they will face the 49ers.
The 49ers' coach, Jim Harbaugh, has perfectly assessed his opponents.
“Class, class team that also is a cruel team. They don’t give you things. They don’t let you have what you want. They don’t make mistakes and turn the ball over to you. They’re the opposite of that. They’re an opportunistic football team, they’re a hard-working
football team, really at every position group. They are where they are because of all those things”.
Previous Meeting
Both the teams played against each other in the regular season game. The 49ers were the winners (27-20), but the game was played two months ago.
Now both these teams are well aware of how they have progressed in the season after that matchup and that’s why the 49ers are not getting complacent and the Giants are not underestimating themselves.
Weather
As per the weather forecast, the weather will remain cloudy with a great possibility of showers.
However, both the teams have shrugged off the probable danger of weather influencing the game-play and have repeatedly mentioned that they are not going to be bothered by this natural phenomenon.
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