Conference Championship weekend is upon us, and everyone is choosing their picks for both games. On a recent episode of Undisputed, Shannon Sharpe made a bold prediction about the final score of the NFC title game between the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles.
“I’m goign to take the 49ers in a very close ballgame,” Sharpe told Skip Bayless. “Love what DeMeco Ryan is doing — those guys play extremely hard for him.
“I know he’s going to have a plan because the one thing you plan for is that you have to have a plan for Jalen Hurts’ legs. … I think they come up with a great gameplan. They neutralize Jalen Hurts’ legs, they make him throw the football from the pocket. I’m going to take the 49ers in a very close game. I’m going to say 49ers 23-20.”
Sharpe Explains Why 49ers Are Headed to Super Bowl
In terms of position matchups, Sharpe gave the San Francisco front seven the nod over the Eagles, while saying both teams have formidable secondaries before giving Phili the slight edge. Still, Sharpe says the 49ers outweigh the Eagles on offense in every position but one.
“The only place that I can that the Philadelphia Eagles have an advantage is at quarterback. Offensive line, running back, skill position — Deebo [Samuel], [George] Kittle, [Brandon] Aiyuk, Jauan [Jennings], the running backs with [Christian McCaffrey] and [Elijah] Mitchell — I think it’s a push.”
As good as the 49ers defense is, the offense is just as lethal. They might be starting Mr. Irrelevant, but he’s undefeated as an NFL starter surrounded by superstars at every position. No team in the NFL has a WR-TE-RB trio like SF does in Samuel, Kittle and McCaffrey, and Brock Purdy is making the most of it. All he has to do is win one more game to take his team to a Super Bowl.
The NFC Championship game will kick-off at 3 p.m. ET live from Philidelphia with Fox carrying the national broadcast. The Eagles are 2.5-point favorites at home as of Saturday morning, per Caesars Sportsbook.
