49ers Vs. Giants: A Prospector's Guide

The San Francisco 49ers get their second home game of the postseason on Sunday as they host the New York Giants in the 2012 NFC Championship Game. This marks the 13th conference title game appearance for the 49ers, which is third among NFL franchises since 1970. I knew the 49ers had been to numerous conference championships, but I didn't realize it was quite that many.

After the jump I've posted some of the notable stats leading up to the game, wrapping it up with a comparison of regular season statistics. The Giants are dead last in rushing and I think it's safe to say we'll expect a lot of passing from Eli Manning. Of course, if the rain is pouring down on Sunday, it will be interesting to see if the Giants compensate in some manner.

On the defensive side of the ball, outside of the pass rush, the Giants are struggling. They are getting plenty of sacks, but they're still giving up plenty of passing yards. When the 49ers and Giants last met, while Alex Smith did not hoist up a huge passing total, the team showed a willingness to put the game-plan in Alex Smith's hands. It wasn't a shootout, but Alex came out passing from the get-go after the Giants basically dared him to pass on them.

Given that previous performance and Alex's performance against New Orleans, it will be interesting to see what kind of game plan the Giants defense comes out with against Alex Smith and company.

• TE Vernon Davis notched 7 receptions for 180 yds. and 2 TDs last week vs. NO in the NFC Divisional Round. His 180 rec. yds. are the most by a tight end in a single game in NFL postseason history. The total also ranks 2nd among all players in franchise history (215 rec. yds. by WR Jerry Rice in Super Bowl XXIII.
• K David Akers has connected on 34 career postseason FGs, which ranks 2nd in the NFL postseason history (K Adam Vinatieri - 45).
• This marks the 49ers' 13th Conference Championship game appearance, the third-most among all NFL franchises since 1970.
• Since 1980, the 49ers have posted a 18-5 (.783) record at home in the postseason, including an 8-2 record in the last 10 playoff games at home.

A SHORT FIELD

• The 49ers started 37 drives in their opponents territory, which ranked 1st in the NFL. They scored 134 points on those drives, which also ranked 1st in the NFL. On the other side of the ball, the 49ers allowed just 11 drives to start in their own territory, which ranked t-1st in the NFL.

YOU WANNA START SOMETHING?

• The 49ers average starting field position was at their own 33.5-yard line, ranking 1st in the NFL. At home, the 49ers had an avg. starting field position of their own 35.5-yard line, which ranked 1st in the NFL.

LONG WAY TO GO

• The 49ers ranked 1st in the NFL with an opponents average starting field position of the 24.3-yard line, in 2011. At home, the 49ers opponents had an avg. starting field position of their own 20.8-yard line, which ranked 1st in the NFL.

POINTS HARD TO COME BY

• The 49ers have allowed just 229 points on the season, ranking 2nd in the NFL for the fewest points allowed. Their 14.3 pts. per game ranks 3rd in franchise history.

SHORT AND TOUGH

• The 49ers allowed just 23 first downs on 3rd and less than 4 yds. (23 of 54 - 42.6 pct.), which ranked 1st in the NFL.

LONG RETURNS

• The 49ers registered 10 punt returns of 20-or-more yds. in 2011, which ranked 1st in the NFL.

RETURN TO SENDER

• The 49ers were the only team in the NFL not to allow a return of any kind for a TD, in 2011.

EFFICIENCY ON D

• The 49ers defense allowed opponents to score on just 23.3 pct. of their possessions, which ranked 1st in the NFL, in 2011.

CONVERTING ON 4TH

• The 49ers converted 9 of 14 (64.3 pct.) 4th down attempts this season, ranking 2nd in the NFL.

THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE

• The 49ers outscored their opponents 380-229. The +151 scoring differential ranked 4th in the NFL, in 2011. It also was the highest scoring differential by the 49ers since 1998 (+151).

HANDLING THE BLITZ

• San Francisco registered a QB rating of 96.8 when they faced a blitz, which ranked 3rd in the NFL.

CONTROLLING THE CLOCK

• The 49ers had an average time of possession of 32:03 per game, which ranked 3rd in the NFL.history.

Matchups: 35
Postseason Matchups: 7
Series Record: 49ers lead series 18-17
Postseason Series Record: 49ers lead series 4-3
49ers Home Record vs. Giants: 49ers lead series 11-7
49ers Postseason Home Record vs. Giants: 49ers lead series 4-1
First Meeting: 11/9/52, Giants win, 23-14, at NY
First Postseason Meeting: 1/3/82, 49ers win 38-24, at SF
Last Meeting: 11/13/11, 49ers win, 27-20, at SF
Last Postseason Meeting: 1/5/03, 49ers win 39-38, at SF
Current Streak: Win 1
Current Postseason Streak: Win 2
Longest 49ers Win Streak: 6 (9/6/92 - 1/5/03)
Longest Postseason 49ers Win Streak: 2 (2 times) - (1/3/82 - 12/29/84 and 1/15/94 - 1/5/03)
Longest Giants Win Streak: 5 (10/15/72 - 10/14/79)
Longest Postseason Giants Win Streak: 3 - (12/28/85 - 1/20/91)
Most 49ers Points: 41 (10/5/87), 41-21, at NYG
Most Postseason 49ers Points: 44 (1/15/94), 44-3, at SF
Most Giants Points: 48 (11/17/63), 48-14, at NYG
Most Postseason Giants Points: 49 (1/4/87): 49-3, at NYG
49ers Shutouts: 1 (11/23/80), 12-0, at SF
Postseason 49ers Shutouts: None
Giants Shutouts: None
Postseason Giants Shutouts: None

2011 Statistics