Lions Open as 6.5-Point Underdogs against 49ers

Lions are underdogs in NFC Championship Game.

The Detroit Lions have opened as a 6.5-point betting underdog for their NFC Championship showdown with the San Francisco 49ers. 

Detroit advanced to the conference championship game with a 31-23 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. San Francisco, meanwhile, defeated Green Bay in the divisional round by a final of 24-21. 

The 49ers are hosting Sunday's game, which is set for 6:30 p.m. and will be televised on FOX, as the NFC's top seed. 

This season marks only the second ever in which the Lions have reached the NFC Championship. In their only other appearance, which came in the 1991 season, they were defeated, 41-10, by Washington. 

A win Sunday would send the Lions to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history. 

Lions 60 Minutes from Super Bowl, Defeat Bucs, 31-23

The 49ers, meanwhile, are playing in the NFC Championship Game for the third consecutive season. Last year, they fell 31-7 to the Philadelphia Eagles, after both their starting and backup quarterbacks suffered injuries. The year prior, they lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams. 

San Francisco is seeking its first Super Bowl appearance since the 2019 season, when it was defeated by the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV. Sunday's game will mark the 19th NFC Championship Game that the 49ers have played in, which is the most among NFC teams. 

The 49ers lead the all-time series between these two teams, 39-28-1, and they haven't played each other since the 2021 season opener. 

Detroit and San Francisco have met twice before in the playoffs. Detroit won the 1957 matchup, while San Francisco won by a single point in 1983.