Cowboy sent A Brutal Massage To Detroit

It now looks like a four-team battle to see who emerges as victor in the NFC championship game after the San Francisco 49ers’ 42-19 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. Which of the teams is most likely to make it to the Super Bowl though?

1) San Francisco 49ers (9-3, 1st place NFC West)

Strengths: You’ve probably heard this before but the 49ers are the most well-balanced team in the league. While Brock Purdy will always be the main story in San Francisco, it’s less about the quarterback and more about his offensive weapons. The 49ers have an unbelievable offense, with running back Christian McCaffrey, tight end George Kittle and multitasking receiver Deebo Samuel alone representing a murders’ row that can beat teams both in the air and on the ground. If you combine San Francisco’s offense with an extremely effective defense, it’s hard not to rank them as the most dangerous team in the NFC right now, even if Philadelphia have won one more game.

Weaknesses: Purdy has saved his best performances for the biggest games this year, including four-touchdown performances against the Dallas Cowboys and the Eagles. However, he’s shown understandable signs of regression throughout his sophomore season and he isn’t quite the proven QB that Jalen Hurts or Dak Prescott is. Also, the 49ers’ midseason slump exposed holes in their pass rush. That feels like nitpicking after Sunday’s statement game, but we can’t assume all the team’s issues have been permanently fixed.

2) Philadelphia Eagles (10-2, 1st place NFC East)

Strengths: While today’s loss dropped the Eagles’ chances at the top seed from 79.5% to 53.9%, they’re still in the driver’s seat to maintain home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. It’s impossible to overstate how huge of an advantage that is in the NFL playoffs. While Prescott is currently the flavor-of-the-month among quarterbacks, the dual-threat Hurts is still probably the MVP favorite.

Weaknesses: In their four previous games before their loss to the Niners, the Eagles trailed in the second half. While Philly eventually were able to win all four of those games, Sunday’s loss was a reminder that it’s not a recipe for success against the best teams. Hurts has had a great season, but it’s also notable that he already has 10 interceptions on the year – he had six in whole of the last regular season – not ideal when he’s the biggest part of your offense.