Lions vs. 49ers: NFC Championship preview and best bets

For the third straight year, the San Francisco 49ers have reached the NFC title game. The Lions and the entire city of Detroit have been waiting decades for this opportunity as they prepare for their first NFL Conference Championship game appearance since 1991. The Lions are currently +7 underdogs across Michigan’s top sportsbooks, so a winning bet on Detroit could return some serious cash.

Many people forget that Goff has already been to a Super Bowl, though it was not a memorable one for him. Goff and the Rams lost Super Bowl LIII to the Patriots, as Goff was 19-38 in a 13-3 loss. Still, that experience as a young quarterback surely has aided his incredible progression, and he is likely as hungry as ever to get back there, this time as a member of the Lions.

Detroit will have their hands full in this one, as the Niners are loaded with stars on both sides of the ball. There are two matchups to focus on. One, Aidan Hutchinson against the 49ers offensive line. Hutchinson has eight sacks in his past four games and San Francisco tied for the seventh fewest sacks allowed this season.

The other matchup will be the Lions rushing game against the Niners’ front seven. Both units ranked in the top five, so Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery will need to be great for the Lions to pull off the upset.

As alluded to earlier, the Niners are loaded at just about every position on the field. One of their weapons, however, may not take the field on Sunday. Deebo Samuel missed practice on Wednesday, and his status for the NFC Championship is uncertain as of this writing. San Francisco was 0-3 in the regular season when Samuel played 10 of fewer snaps, so having their star wide receiver is imperative.

Additionally, the passing game for San Francisco will be key, as the Niners had the most efficient passing offense in the NFL while the Lions had one of the league’s worst pass defenses. If Samuel can’t go, even more will fall on the shoulders of Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey.

At this juncture, it is hard to imagine Samuel missing this game. Still, it is also difficult to envision him being 100% healthy. But even with a healthy Samuel, this is simply too many points for the 49ers to be giving up. Detroit has proven to be covering machines, with the best against the spread record in the NFL since Dan Campbell took over as head coach (36-17 ATS).

The Lions know they are the underdog and are playing with house money. There is no coach I trust more to prepare his team for this moment than Dan Campbell. Even if the Lions don’t pull off the upset, covering this spread feels like a worthwhile bet to make.

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