Conference Championship Games: Are the 49ers and the Eagles the Two Best Teams in the NFC?

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Jalen Hurts #1 of the Philadelphia Eagles rushes the ball against the San Francisco 49ers. Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images/AFP

The 49ers are back in the NFC Championship game while the Eagles are attempting to go from one-and-done in the postseason last year to conference champs this season. But are either of these teams worthy of playing in the season’s second biggest game of the year?

Let’s review the NFL odds and see if we glean some information that will help us with our betting picks this weekend!

If you’re a Philadelphia local planning on placing any bets for this game, make sure you check out our Pennsylvania betting sites guide before doing so!


San Francisco 49ers vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Sunday, January 29, 2023 – 03:00 PM EST at Lincoln Financial Field

Odds Breakdown

  • Spread: Eagles -2½ (-108) / 49ers -2½ (-108)
  • Total: Over 45½ (-108) / Under 45½ (-108)
  • Moneyline: Eagles (-145) / 49ers (+125)

*Odds courtesy of Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)


49ers Lookin’ Purdy

And so, Brock Purdy’s Cinderella story continues. The undefeated rookie and 7th-round pick out of Who Cares U was the last player chosen, aka Mr. Irrelevant, in the 2022 NFL Draft. It’s a feel-good, Disney-esque kind of story that you’ve seen a million times before, only this one is real.

But the question remains, are the 49ers truly one of the best two teams in the NFC, and do they deserve to be here? Well, hell yeah! Can you imagine where the Niners might be if Josh Allen had this kind of defense behind him or a Christian McCaffrey in the backfield?

Sure, Allen would be without the sublime services of Stefon Diggs, but Deebo Samuel looks like a younger, perhaps even better, version of Buffalo’s go-to guy. And although the Bills’ Dawson Knox is a nice tight end, is he better than San Francisco’s George Kittle? Ah, that’s a hard no.

From Zero to Hero

But back to the man himself, Brock Purdy. He has won all 8 games he’s started, including playoff victories over the Seahawks and Cowboys. And although he was more of a game manager than a game-breaker in the 49ers’ 19-12 win over Dallas, he didn’t have to be anything but that.

Against the Seahawks, Purdy racked up 332 passing yards, 3 touchdown passes, and one rushing TD to secure a 41-23 win over Seattle. The kid has gone from zero to hero and he is not basking in the limelight, he’s handling his business like a seasoned pro. And that’s what makes the kid out of Iowa State so special.

Brock Purdy has failed to throw an interception or lose a fumble in the postseason and that has not gone unnoticed by his head coach, Kyle Shanahan.

"Yes, he's been unbelievable with that," Shanahan said via a conference call on Monday. "I think that's the number one thing he's done, and to be able to be as good with the ball as he has while still making a number of the plays that he has, that's definitely the thing I've been most impressed with."


Eagles Continue to Soar

If you believe the team tied for the best record in the regular season and one that steamrolled their way to a 38-7 win over the Giants in the division round of the playoffs shouldn’t be here, then you also believe Mila Kunis looks a bit masculine, and Margot Robbie falls several clicks short of being the stone-cold dime that she is.

Puh-leeze. This team not only belongs here, but they will likely be hoisting the Lombardi Trophy and bringing it back to the City of Brother Love when it’s all said and done. Let’s put this all into perspective, shall we? Philadelphia ended the regular season offensively as:

  • No. 9 in passing yards
  • No. 5 in rushing yards
  • No. 5 in turnovers
  • No. 3 in total yards
  • No. 3 in points scored

And now let’s move to the defensive side of the ball.

  • No. 16 in rushing yards allowed
  • No. 8 in points allowed
  • No. 3 in takeaways
  • No. 2 in total yards allowed
  • No. 1 in passing yards allowed

Perhaps it’s that last stat, No.1 in passing defense, that has Philadelphia dining at the NFL’s most exclusive table for four. It’s a passing league, we all know this, and if you can stop a team’s aerial attack then you’ve got a damn good chance of making noise in this league as long as you have a serviceable offense.

A Stelar Lineup

With Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Miles Sanders, and one of the best right tackles in the game, Lane Johnson, then it’s a pretty good bet you’re going to put points on the board.

Hurts has made a quantum leap since his rookie season, and if there was one rumor during the offseason that proved to be dead-on, it was that Philadelphia’s third-year signal-caller was going to be something special this year. We’ve all heard the stories of athletes saying they’ve added “20 pounds of muscle” or they “feel better than they have in years” but once the season starts most players are who they’ve always been.

But Jalen Hurts is a bona fide MVP candidate who can make defenses pay with his arm and his legs. There are few like him, and if the Eagles can crack the code that is the 49ers’ defense, they will be playing on Super Bowl Sunday, and, yes, they would deserve to be there, just as they do here.

*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.