It's about that time of the week where national sportswriters make put their bet on the table, and Sports Illustrated Senior Writer Peter King has made his selection - the 49ers by two. King has this to say:
San Francisco 19, New York Giants 17. I find it hard to believe I'm picking against Eli Manning. Borderline insanity. All he's done in the last four years is go 6-1 in playoff games ... with five of the wins outside of New Jersey. He's knocked the Packers out of the playoffs twice at Lambeau Field. He's beaten Tom Brady in Foxborough (in the regular season this year; the Pats' only home loss) and in a Super Bowl. And he can't beat Alex Smith in Candlestick? Certainly he can, but the San Francisco front is going to have something to say about that.
Read the rest of King's assessment and further explanation of his pick at Sports Illustrated.
For more news and notes on the 49ers, head over to Niners Nation. For the Giants side of things, make sure to head over to Big Blue View.