San Francisco 49ers vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Free Pick: San Francisco +9 -110 odds - NFL point spreads
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This is no longer a classic case of a West Coast team travelling East for an early start game now that weather conditions have forced the NFL to move the kickoff back to 4:15 local time on Sunday. And without the stigma of that awful 10 AM Pacific Time start, the 49ers are one West Coast team poised to hang around for a long, long time in Philly on Sunday.

San Fran has played great on the road all year long, despite their 1-5 SU record on the highway. The 49ers beat Arizona back in Week 1, but they’ve lost at Green Bay, Indy, Houston, Minnesota and Seattle – a murderer’s row of a road schedule. Every one of those defeats came in competitive fashion – the largest margin of victory was six points. Minnesota needed a Hail Mary miracle on the final play of the game to beat them; San Fran showed character and execution rallying from big deficits to make things interesting late at both Green Bay and Houston. This is not a team to fear supporting on the road.

After their win over Arizona on Monday Night Football, the 49ers are still very much thinking ‘playoffs’, particularly with the Cowboys suffering through another December meltdown. If Dallas continues to falter, the last Wild Card spot in the NFC is wide open. The 49ers close out the season with games against the Lions and Rams. If they can somehow steal a victory here, the 49ers have a realistic shot at reaching the postseason and they know it. This is no flat spot coming off a Monday Night victory; rather, it’s a hungry, ascending team poised to make a statement against another quality foe.

Philadelphia’s defense gave up more than 500 yards to the Giants last week, a banged up unit that has struggled repeatedly against balanced attacks like that of the 49ers. Prior to that game, we saw the Eagles struggle to stop the Redskins and Bears within the last month, winning both of those games against sub .500 opposition by four points or less. Philly is also a team that has a strong tendency to come out flat every month or so – look no further than sluggish games against Oakland in October and Dallas in November as two clear recent examples. Coming off a huge divisional win, don’t expect the Eagles ‘A’ game here.

With cold, snowy weather expected, the Eagles big play passing offense is likely to be rather limited, creating a big advantage for Frank Gore and the 49ers running game; the superior rushing attack in poor weather conditions. The Niners may not be able to pull off the outright upset, but they’re good enough and match up well enough to keep this game within a touchdown. 2* Take San Francisco.