SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Football can be a beautiful game, replete with dazzling athletic feats of finesse, improvisation and grace.
Sunday’s NFC Championship Game between the 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles won’t be that kind of football.
No, the Niners and Birds are set to play a brutal, facemask-to-facemask, mud-and-blood contest in Philadelphia. A trip to the Super Bowl is on the line. If scars are the price to pay for a chance at winning the title, so be it.
