The San Francisco 49ers got an improbable win over the Saints in the final minute last weekend as Alex Smith turned in a Montana like effort.  He might have to do that again this Sunday as the Giants looked pretty damn good in thumping the Packers at Lambeau Field last weekend.  Here is a look at the matchups in the NFC Championship Game:

When the 49ers have the ball:  The 49ers are going to come out running the ball with Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter in this game.  They should have success on the ground as the Giants are a little soft in the middle and at linebacker.  The Niners need to establish a good running game to A.) keep the clock moving, B.) slow the Giants pass rush and C.) keep the Giants offense on the sideline.  If the Niners are forced to be one dimensional by throwing the ball in this game, QB Alex Smith is going to get battered and bruised.  The Niners have had protection issues at times this year, but for Smith to have a chance to make some big plays down the field…he’s going to need time to throw the ball.  The Giants’ safeties are no match for TE Vernon Davis, so he should have another big game.  WR Michael Crabtree is going to have to man up and put his alligator arms away for this game.

When the Giants have the ball:  The Giants saw the tape last week of the Saints’ game against the Niners.  I expect that they will only run enough to keep the front seven of the Niners somewhat honest.  The Giants know that they aren’t going to move the ball by running it with Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs against the very stingy run D of the Niners.  The Niners will need DE Justin Smith, OLB Aldon Smith and the rest of the defense to get after Eli Manning.  Manning will make mistakes if he’s getting rushed or hit.  If he has time to throw the ball though, he has as many weapons as Drew Brees had last weekend.  WRs Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham and TE Jake Ballard are all good targets in the passing game.  The secondary is going to have to step up this Sunday if the Niners are going to the Super Bowl.

PREDICTION:  GIANTS 27, 49ERS 17

The 49ers have to travel to Seattle to deal with the Seahawks on a short week.  The Niners thumped the Steelers 20-3 last Monday Night in Frisco, so they will need to not have a let down today as Seattle is a tough place to play.  The 49ers beat the Seahawks in San Francisco, 33-17 earlier this year.  The Seahawks have really been playing well lately.  They have won their last three games by a combined score of 99-41!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the 49ers have the ball:  The Niners likely want to run the ball a lot today with Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter, but they will have to fight for every yard as the Seahawks are giving up 106.3 yards rushing per game but only 3.7 yards per carry so far this year.  The Niners have been throwing the ball down the field more as confidence continues to grow concerning QB Alex Smith.  If Smith has time to throw the ball, he’s going to have success today.

When the Seahawks have the ball:  The Seahawks have really turned into a running team as of late and that isn’t likely to change today.  That is fine with the Niners as they are only giving up 71.5 yards rushing per game and 3.3 yards per carry.  RB Marshawn Lynch is going to have to fight for every yard he gets today.  The Niners are going to put a heavy rush on Tarvaris Jackson to try to force him into making some mistakes in this game.  Jackson is running out of healthy receivers.

PREDICTION:  SEAHAWKS 16, 49ERS 14

This is a huge game for both teams on Monday Night Football as they would each like a bye in the first week of the playoffs.  The Niners have now lost two of their last three games.  The Steelers have won 4 games in a row and 8 of their last 9 games, so they are red hot right now.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the 49ers have the ball:  The 49ers aren’t going to change.  They are going to run the ball first with Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter against a Steelers’ D that is giving up 97.0 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry.  They are likely to stick with the running game, which for some reason teams have not done against the Steelers.  The Niners must protect Alex Smith in this game as he was sacked 9 times just three weeks ago by the Ravens.  The Steelers are going to be blitzing when they get off the team bus on Monday Night.  The way to beat the blitz is with short passes.  That means that Smith is going to need to get back to throwing to his TEs (Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker) as well as WRs Michael Crabtree, Ted Ginn and Kyle Williams.

When the Steelers have the ball:  The Steelers are going to try to be balanced to protect QB Ben Roethlisberger, who is gimpy right now.  Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman are unlikely to dent the Niners’ D, as they are only giving up 70.5 yards rushing per game and 3.2 yards per carry so far this year.  The 49ers are also going to have to blitz a lot and try to get Roethlisberger out of this game.  He has solid deep threats in WRs Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown, so the Niners can’t allow him time to throw the ball, period.

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 16, 49ERS 13

The 49ers completely shut down the Cardinals, 26-0 last weekend.  They beat the Cardinals 23-7 in San Francisco just three weeks ago.  That was the only game the Cardinals have lot in their last five games and they will have Kevin Kolb under center this weekend.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the 49ers have the ball:  The 49ers will likely go with the conservative approach as they ran the ball 42 times in the first meeting between these two teams.  The Cardinals are giving up 119.4 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry, so Frank Gore should have a good game this Sunday.  Look for Kendall Hunter to also be involved in the running attack this weekend in an attempt to keep Gore healthy.  Alex Smith should have time to throw the ball this weekend, so look for him to continue to target WRs Michael Crabtree, Kyle Williams and Ted Ginn down the field.  The Cardinals are giving up 251.1 yards passing per game, so the Niners should be o.k. this weekend when throwing the ball.

When the Cardinals have the ball:  The Cardinals will be a different team than the one the Niners played three weeks ago.  Kevin Kolb will be under center instead of John Skelton, so look for the passing game to be much improved.  The Niners need to get to Kolb, or he could make some plays down the field to Larry Fitzgerald.  That could be trouble for the Niners as Fitzgerald is one of the best WRs in the NFL.  WRs Early Doucet and Andre Roberts have also been stepping up this year lately, so the secondary could have their hands full.  The Niners’ front seven will have a challenge in stopping Beanie Wells, as he is a high impact running back when healthy.

PREDICTION:  49ERS 23, CARDINALS 20

The Niners saw their 8-game winning streak snapped 16-6 by the Ravens in Baltimore on Thanksgiving, so they should be in a nasty mood tomorrow against the Rams.  The Rams lost a painful game at home last weekend, 23-20 to the Cardinals.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Niners have the ball:  Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter have to be foaming at the mouth after watching game film of the Rams’ D.  The Rams are giving up 159.0 yards rushing per game and 5.1 yards per carry, so look for Gore and Hunter to get a lot of rushing yards tomorrow.  Look for QB Alex Smith to get back into his ball control passing mode.  TEs Vernon Davis, Delanie Walker and WR Michael Crabtree will be the 49ers preferred weapons in the passing game tomorrow.

When the Rams have the ball:  The Rams are going to want to run the ball with Steven Jackson.  That will be fine for the Niners as they are only allowing 75.5 yards rushing per game and 3.5 yards per carry so far this year.  The Niners will likely come after whoever is starting at QB for the Rams (Sam Bradford or A.J. Feeley) and try to force them into making some mistakes with the football.   The Niners will likely double cover Brandon Lloyd and dare the Rams to beat them by throwing to someone else.

PREDICTION:  49ERS 24, RAMS 3

The San Francisco 49ers are 4-0 on the road this year and the Ravens are 5-0 at home.  The Harbaugh’s (Jim and John) are going to duke it out tonight in the first ever matchup in the NFL of brothers that are head coaches.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the 49ers have the ball:  The 49ers aren’t going to change anything tonight in Baltimore.  The Niners are going to come out running the ball with Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter, but they will have to fight for every yard as the Ravens are only giving up 93.2 yards rushing per game and 3.3 yards per carry.  Alex Smith will likely throw a little more than usual in this game, so the line is going to have to give him time to throw the ball.  Smith will likely keep his TEs (Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker) heavily involved in the short passing game.  The Niners will also need WRs Michael Crabtree and Kyle Williams to stretch the field a little bit in this game.

When the Ravens have the ball:  The 49ers are going to key on stopping Ray Rice tonight as LBs Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman are going to be focusing on slowing him down.  The Niners are only giving up 73.9 yards rushing per game and 3.6 yards per carry so far this year, so they should be up to the task of stopping Rice.  Ravens’ QB Joe Flacco is very inconsistent and the Niners have 15 interceptions so far this year, so the Niners are going to be coming after him with a heavy pass rush to try to make him make the big mistake.  The Niners have to be careful though as Ravens’ rookie WR Torrey Smith is a big time homerun threat.

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 17, NINERS 13

The 49ers have won 7 games in a row as they are red hot right now.  The Cardinals have won two games in a row by a combined score of 40-30.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the 49ers have the ball:  The Niners have been a run first team so far this year and that isn’t going to change tomorrow.  Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter are going to get the ball a lot tomorrow against a Cardinals’ D that is giving up 123.1 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry.  The Niners will pick spots to throw the ball, likely off of play action.  Smith has been a master at the ball fake and throw down the field.  Look for him to spread the ball around to Vernon Davis, Delanie Walker, Michael Crabtree and Braylon Edwards to keep everyone happy.

When the Cardinals have the ball:  The Cardinals might not test the Niners’ front seven much with Beanie Wells, as he is banged up right now.  The Cardinals are likely going to throw the ball all over the field, with QB John Skelton pulling the trigger.  He is a gunslinger, who tries to fit the ball into tight spots.  The Niners will likely give safety help to Carlos Rogers over the top as he will be dealing with WR Larry Fitzgerald all day long.

PREDICTION:  49ERS 23, CARDINALS 17

The San Francisco 49ers are on a roll as they have won five games in a row by a combined score of 130-63!  The Redskins are going in the opposite direction as they have lost three games in row in which they have been outscored 76-33!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the 49ers have the ball:  The 49ers don’t change for any defense.  Look for Frank Gore to get a ton of work in this game against a Redskins’ D that is allowing 120.4 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry so far this year.  The Redskins have 23 sacks so far this year, so the Niners must establish the running game early to help slow the pass rush.  Alex Smith started to throw the ball to his WRs (Braylon Edwards and Michael Crabtree) a lot more last weekend and I look for that to continue.  But, at the same time, this game will likely set up well for TE Vernon Davis to excel.

When the Redskins have the ball:  The Redskins’ offense doesn’t scare the Niners’ D one bit.  The Redskins would probably like to run the ball with Ryan Torain and rookie Roy Helu.  Good luck with that against the Niners’ D that is allowing only 73.4 yards rushing per game and 3.5 yards per carry so far this year.  The Redskins’ O-Line has suffered big time injuries lately and the offense has suffered because of that.  That doesn’t mean that QB John Beck gets a pass, as he is probably the worst starting QB in the NFL right now.

PREDICTION:  49ERS 26, REDSKINS 3

The San Francisco 49ers are on a roll right now as they are on a 4-game winning streak.  Hopefully the bye week doesn’t slow them down.  The Browns won 6-3 against the Seahawks in Cleveland last weekend.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the 49ers have the ball:  The 49ers are going to go with what has worked all season long.  They are going to feed the ball to Frank Gore against a Browns’ D that is allowing 119.0 yards rushing per game so far this year but only 3.9 yards per carry.  That means that Gore is going to have to fight for every yard he gets.  The Browns are only giving up 172 yards passing per game so far this year, so Alex Smith isn’t likely going to have a big day.  The Niners just want him to manage the game well tomorrow while protecting the football.

When the Browns have the ball:  The Browns ran the ball a lot last weekend with Montario Hardesty and Chris Ogbonnaya.  The Niners hope they come with the same gameplan as stopping the run is their defenses’ specialty.  The Niners are only giving up 74.7 yards rushing per game and 3.6 yards per carry so far this year.  The Niners do have issues stopping the passing game, so don’t be surprised to see the Browns take the shackles off of Colt McCoy tomorrow.  Greg Little, Evan Moore and Josh Cribbs are likely going to get most of the passes thrown their way tomorrow.

PREDICTION:  49ERS 20, BROWNS 17

This is going to be a pretty impressive battle at Ford Field this Sunday.  The 49ers are 2-0 on the road as they have outscored their opponents 37-31.  The Lions have been dominating at home though where they are 2-0, outscoring their opponents 72-16!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the 49ers have the ball:  The Niners are going to come out running the ball with Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter against a Lions’ D that is allowing 114.8 yards rushing and 4.8 yards per carry.  The Niners are going to try to control the ball and the clock on the ground this weekend, as usual.  The Lions have a solid pass rush (12 sacks this year), so Alex Smith is likely to be under some duress this Sunday.  That means he will be working on the short stuff with TE Vernon Davis being his top target.

When the Lions have the ball:  The front seven is going to have their hands full with Jahvid Best, who exploded last Monday Night against the Bears.  The Niners are going to have to find a way to put some pressure on Lions’ QB Matt Stafford (he has only been sacked six times so far this year).  That is because, if Stafford has time to throw the ball, he’s going to sting a 49ers’ D that is allowing 264.4 yards passing per game.  WR Calvin Johnson (29 rec, 451 yards, 9 TDs) is going to require double team help, which is going to mean single coverage on everyone else.

PREDICTION:  LIONS 24, 49ERS 17