NFC Championship odds: 49ers open up as slight underdogs vs. Eagles

The 49ers will be betting underdogs for the first time in a long time as they travel to take on the Eagles in the 2023 NFC Championship game.

When is the last time the San Francisco 49ers have been underdogs in a game?

It’s been a while. Seriously.

Amid the Niners’ lengthy win streak that dates back into October and has now stretched into the NFL playoffs, including a 19-12 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round, the Niners have used both an opportunistic offense and suffocating defense to claim the No. 2 seed in the conference.

So, it’s only fitting that head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad will face the one team that finished ahead in the playoff standings, the Philadelphia Eagles, in the NFC Championship game.

San Francisco’s recent surge nearly caught Philly in the standings before the regular season closed, yet Philadelphia does have the benefit of playing at home at Lincoln Financial Field, while the 49ers will have to make the trip back east.

And, if fans thought going up against a Dallas defense at home was tough, the Eagles could make life just as difficult (if not even tougher) against quarterback Brock Purdy and the Niners offense.

NFC Championship betting odds: 49ers a road underdog vs. Eagles

San Francisco will enter the NFC Championship game as a 2.5-point road underdog to Philly, according to the oddsmakers at DraftKings.

Considering home teams are typically given three points simply because of not having to travel, perhaps it’s a slight boost for the 49ers to have less than a three-point spread.

The Niners’ moneyline is +120, whereas Philadelphia’s is -140.

The over/under for the game is 45.5.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

49ers vs. Eagles prediction for NFC Championship game

Both Dallas and San Francisco boasted top-five defenses during the regular season, the latter team finishing up the year with the No. 1-ranked scoring defense.

The Eagles, meanwhile, had the eighth-best scoring defense but ranked second best in yards allowed. Combined with the No. 3 scoring offense from the regular season, it’s not hard to see why the 49ers will have a tough time as they did against the Cowboys.

Philly isn’t particularly stout against the run, though, allowing an average of 4.6 yards per carry, which ranks 26th.

And that feeds right into what the Niners will want to do in this high-profile matchup: run the ball and keep quarterback Jalen Hurts and a dangerous Philadelphia offense off the field.

If that goes according to plan, and we are a 49ers-centric site, let’s go ahead and predict San Francisco pulling off the road victory and advancing to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LVII.