After Sunday afternoons pathetic performance in Detroit, the Packers have had time to lick their wounds, make self-corrections, and prepare for Monday Nights primetime battle against the San Francisco 49ers.  Despite playing their worst football of the season, the Packers surprisingly still rank as one of the NFL’s top teams (I know it surprised me as well).  According to pro football focus elite stats, the Green Bay Packers enter week 6 as the 7th best team in the NFL with an 81.6 grade, and their offense ranks 6th in the NFL with a 76.0 grade, while their defense ranks 7th in the NFL with a grade of 79.3.  

These stats tell us two things, one when the Packers play a complete sixty minutes of football they are a playoff quality football team, and two, if they do not straighten things out quickly, the blame will fall squarely on the shoulders of Mike McCarthy.  

With this being said, I see Monday Nights matchup with San Francisco to play out similarly to the Buffalo contest just two short weeks ago.  The statistics tell us that San Francisco is a much inferior opponent (67.8 overall grade) and is reeling from losing their 100 million dollar star quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, which means that Green Bay will be looking to exploit the deficiencies on their roster early and often.  

The gameplan to coast towards an easy win against the 49ers is pretty straightforward, The Packers must play a relatively mistake-free sixty minutes of football.  Here are three key matchups that I believe the Packers will use to their advantage during Monday Night’s Showdown:

Key Matchups:

1. The Packers front seven vs. The 49ers offensive line:

I believe that the key to dramatically swinging this game in the Packers favor will be to shut down the running game and make the 49ers fully rely on C.J Beathard’s arm to move the ball down the field and win them the game.  In order to do that, the Packers will have to expose the 49ers below average run blocking offensive lineman.  

Aside from Right Tackle Mike McGlinchey, the rest of the 49ers offensive lineman have run blocking grades of 65.4 at Right Guard (Mike Pearson), 66.5 at left guard (Laken Tomlinson), 53.0 at center (Weston Richburg), and 65.0 at left tackle (Joe Staley).  These are matchups that Kenny Clark, Mike Daniels, and Blake Martinez among others, must be able to exploit so that the Packers can consistently stifle and contain Matt Breida and Alfred Morris to 2-3 yards on their rushing attempts.  A stifled running game will cause the 49ers to become one dimensional and allow Mike Pettine to dial up blitzes which will force C.J Beathard to unload the ball early and force the ball into tight coverage.  

2. Aaron Rodgers vs. Richard Sherman and company:

One of San Francisco's biggest free agent acquisitions this offseason was Richard Sherman.  It was thought that he would be the signing that would provide a cornerstone for the 49er defense much like Jimmy Garoppolo was supposed to provide for the offense.  However, with Jimmy G sidelined for the season, Sherman’s signing seems to be an afterthought for this season moving forward.  With the 49ers season falling apart Richard Sherman will be called upon to make a difference both in the locker room and on the field in hopes that he can bring back some order to an organization that is now in disarray.  

These sentiments are all well and good but the reality is that Richard Sherman is less than a year removed from a ruptured Achilles injury that has many wondering whether he's lost a step.  Sherman still has a respectable defensive grading but, if there was ever a time to exploit him down the field, now would be the time.  I could see Aaron Rodgers testing Sherman in both the slant and deep game with Davante Adams.

Aside from the matchup with Richard Sherman, I see a lot of members of the 49ers secondary that Rodgers will look to exploit. I look for Geronimo Allison to have plenty of targets against Akhello Witherspoon, and Jimmy Graham to have plenty of opportunities to exploit the 49ers safety tandem of Jaquiski Tartt and Adrian Colbert.  

3. The Injury Report vs. Both Teams:

Both of these teams enter Monday Nights matchup with a plethora of players listed on their respective injury reports.  The difference to this game could boil down to which team has the most number of key contributors fully active from their respective injury lists.  On the Packers side, all indications look a bit more positive with Randall Cobb, Geronimo Allison, Brian Bulaga, Bashaud Breeland, Kevin King, Nick Perry, Jimmy Graham, Jaire Alexander, Justin McCray, Kentrell Brice, Jermaine Whitehead, and Aaron Rodgers participating in practice on some capacity on Friday. (Aaron Rodgers and Jimmy Graham both received the day off on Saturday).   

Meanwhile, things have not looked as bright on the already decimated 49ers side of things, seeing Matt Breida, Pierre Garcon, and Dante Pettis all miss Friday's practice leaving their status as questionable for Monday Nights game.  With the possibility of Brieda and Garcon being game-time decisions and potentially seeing limited reps due to multiple injuries, the 49ers could be forced to call on players even further down on the depth chart to give them meaningful contributions.  

A worst-case scenario could see Alfred Morris splitting reps or becoming the featured back if Breida reaggravates his injuries, while Marquise Goodwin and Richie James could receive an increased number of targets from newly anointed number one quarterback C.J Beathard if Pierre Garcon sees limited action because of his injuries.  

Predictions:

I see this game playing out very similarly to the Buffalo Bills game.  I think that the Packers shut down the 49ers rushing attack and force them to become one-dimensional forcing C.J Beathard to make big plays with his arm.  I see the Packers front seven being able to get an immense amount of pressure causing for sacks, hurried passes, and turnovers, causing this game to get out of hand.  

I see the Packers offense continuing to make strides and Mason Crosby recovering from a career-worst performance.  I expect the Packers defense to shine bright and force multiple turnovers leading to extra possessions and points from Aaron Rodgers and the offense. 

• I predict the Packers to win by a score of 34-10.
• I believe the defense will have 4 sacks and 3 turnovers.
• I think Geronimo Allison returns to action and turns in a 100 yard two touchdown performance.
• I believe that the Packers play a solid sixty minutes of football on Monday Night.