This afternoon, the Green Bay Packers will play their conference rival, the San Francisco 49ers. Kickoff is slated for 3:25 PM CST at Lambeau Field. I don't think I need to get into the specifics, if you've been a Packer fan for the last 10 years, you know very well how the Packers have always seemed to struggle with San Francisco. They've pulled together a few regular season wins in that period, but when it comes to the playoffs, the 49ers have had a 5-0 record against the Packers since 2010, with the latest being a 24-21 victory for the 49ers in San Francisco. The Packers are hoping this year will be different.

The Packers are 7-3, coming off a 20-19 victory over the Chicago Bears, which they won with a last-second field goal block. The 49ers are 5-5, coming off a 20-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, which was decided by a Seattle touchdown scored with 12 seconds remaining in the game. The Packers will be looking to build off their close win against Chicago, and the 49ers hope to get back on a winning track. 

The last time these two teams met was in San Francisco in late January of 2024 for the NFC Divisional Playoffs. The 49ers ended up coming away victorious after 49ers running back  Christian McCaffrey ran for 98 yards and two touchdowns and Quarterback Brock Purdy threw for 252 yards and a touchdown. The Packers were able to run the football as well with Aaron Jones reaching 98 yards on 17 carries and then Jordan Love threw for 194 yards and two touchdowns, but he also had two interceptions that won the turnover battle for San Francisco helping them get the victory. Green Bay went home while San Francisco went on to win the NFC Championship before losing in the Super Bowl. 

Last week, despite the Packers being heavily favored against Chicago, it ended up being one of those close NFC North battles for the ages. The Packers' defense struggled a bit stopping a Chicago offense that up to that point hadn't been very potent. I also anticipated the Packers' offense to struggle a bit against a very good Bears' pass defense but expected a big day for the running game. The passing game overall wasn't too terrible with Jordan Love going 13/17 for 261 yards one touchdown and one interception, with 150 of those yards being to Christian Watson. But the running game only saw Josh Jacobs earn 76 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. 

The Packers will look to get all aspects back on track to earn what could be a pivotal win vs San Francisco.

What to see on Offense

Starting on the injury front, the Packers have a clean bill of health heading into this game offense. The 49ers on defense, however, aren't so lucky. They will be missing their star pass rusher Nick Bosa and starting cornerback Charvarius Ward. Bosa has seven sacks in 10 games and currently ranks 2nd in the league with 52 QB pressures. He is a game wrecker. So, the Packers definitely will be off the hook not having to deal with both of those players when Jordan Love gets under center today. 

As far as the pass rush Jordan Love will be facing, DE Leonard Floyd has 4.5 sacks this season with DT Maliek Collins close behind with 4. DT Kevin Givens is only half a sack away though following Collins with 3.5. They will surely be missing Bosa though today as I anticipate the Packers' offensive line handling the 49ers pass rush pretty well without him. 

Jordan Love was hoping to leave his interception streak on the other side of the Bye week but ended up having an attempt get away from him right into the hands of a Bears defender bringing his total to 11 interceptions this season. Today he'll be taking on a 49ers team that ranks seventh in the league with 11 interceptions. Regardless of whether last week's interception was just a bad ball or not, it was a pretty preventable mistake against a good secondary. If Love cleans up for this week and puts up a goose egg in the INT column against a good defense, that could do a lot for his confidence moving forward in that column of the stat sheet. 

Christian Watson had a huge game last week that I believe was an indication of what we could expect moving forward. With Jordan Love getting his mobility back, I can see Watson getting open off of more play action as well as extended plays. The 49ers gave up 110 yards on 10 catches to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and 70 to DK Metcalf on 7 catches. There could be a good chance for Jayden Reed and Christian Watson to have pretty decent games as well as everything on offense balances out. 

San Francisco boasts a top-10 rush defense. So, there is a chance today could be a less bountiful day on the stat sheet for Josh Jacobs. The Packers, however, are ranked fourth in rushing offense with Jacobs. So, this could be a good battle to watch to see which side gives. The rush defense is anchored by star linebacker Fred Warner who also leads the team in tackles with 78 total. A little ways behind him is former Packers ILB, De'Vondre Campbell with 59 total tackles. Campbell left Green Bay on a bit of a sour note in his opinion, so he will be looking for a little measure of revenge today.

The 49ers held Seattle running back Kenneth Walker to just 54 yards on 14 carries last week, but I consider Josh Jacobs to be much better than Walker. I can imagine there will be a few ugly runs that don't go far, but given Jacobs' smash-mouth running style and patience and the line's ability to open holes for him, I could see him getting into at least the 70s or 80s if he carries the ball around 20 times. 

Perhaps the biggest test on offense today will be the red zone. The Packers rank 27th in red-zone success this season. They have a touchdown rate of 48.7%. They will be facing a 49ers defense today that ranks 23rd in red-zone defense. The Packers went 3/5 in red-zone attempts last week vs Chicago but today will be a chance to see if they can improve on that. If the 49ers' defense lets them in the red zone, the Packers need to execute each time if they want to win this game. There's no better game than today to boost the confidence of this offense in areas they've struggled. If they can do it against San Francisco they may start believing they can do it against anyone.

What to See on Defense

Jeff Hafley prepared all week long to face the 49ers' starting Quarterback, Brock Purdy, only to learn that Purdy would be out Sunday and would be replaced by Brandon Allen. Allen is a 32-year-old career backup whose last start came back in 2021 when he led the Bengals through their season finale. In that last start though, he finished with 371 yards passing, and two touchdowns. So, while he may not be a huge threat, he's not all the way a slouch. The one positive for Jeff Hafley though, is there isn't likely to be much of a change in gameplan as Allen will likely run the same offense that Brock Purdy would have. Purdy isn't the most mobile QB, and neither will Brandon Allen be, so lack of week-long prep for Brandon Allen shouldn't be a huge issue. 

I always like to say that Brock Purdy is as good as he is because he's surrounded by the Avengers. Is that to say Purdy is bad but is propped up by his supporting cast? Absolutely not. I still believe Purdy is a pretty good QB, but when you have a supporting cast like Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, and Christian McCaffery, plus you're protected by the likes of Trent Williams, it's going to make your life a whole lot easier. Of course, Brandon Aiyuk is on injured reserve at this time, but Brandon Allen is still going to benefit from the rest of the Avengers, and some Avengers in training you could say. 

At this moment, Jauan Jennings has emerged as the top receiver for the 49ers putting up 588 yards on 42 receptions for four touchdowns. Jennings has certainly opened some eyes this season as one of the most underrated pass catchers and will certainly be a threat today to the Packers' secondary. The aforementioned Deebo Samuel and George Kittle are each over 450 yards receiving this year and will be some good security blankets for Brandon Allen. The Packers will be getting back safety Evan Williams today, but star corner Jaire Alexander will be out and unavailable to assist. Last year, Packers CBs Carrington Valentine and Corey Ballentine kind of held down the fort in a way and performed fairly well when called upon. Perhaps today is a good day for those two to step up and limit these 49ers receivers. 

The 49ers have a good offensive line. This isn't one of those games where a weak offensive line could equal the pass rush getting home to help out the secondary. But with an inexperienced Brandon Allen under center, Jeff Hafley may want to get a little creative. It could be a good time to pull out some of those exotic blitzes from his hat to help generate pressure and confusion on passing downs. We look to guys like Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness each week for the pass rush, of course, this is warranted, they're supposed to be our top pass rushers. Hopefully, they're able to get to the QB a few times today but we're likely going to need more than just the defensive ends. Send linebackers, send a defensive back in, anything to throw Brandon Allen off, and take away from the passing threat. 

I have to caution against taking away from the passing threat though. Usually, that implies that the opposition will struggle if they have to only use the run. And, well, that's not the case here, because the 49ers have defense fit-giver, Christian McCaffrey, as well as Jordan Mason at running back. CMAC has only played in two games this season due to injury, but he's ready to roll for this one and the Packers will have to expect to see a lot of him. Jordan Mason has piled up 703 yards rushing on 137 carries this season which is enough to grant him RB1 status if it weren't for his teammate being McCaffrey. 

If it's successful, Kyle Shannahan is going to run the ball down the Packers' throats play after play after play. He has the personnel to do so. Unfortunately, for the Packers, they will be missing their rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper who's done a good job so far helping out the run defense, so the rest of the Packers' front seven will need to earn their paycheck today against what could be a deadly running game. 

If I'm the Packers, I'm maybe stacking the box to stop the run and hoping we can stop Brandon Allen from beating us. We watched our own team decimate the Colts on the ground with a backup Quarterback at the helm who didn't throw many passes. So, we know that it can be done. Just because the 49ers are running QB2 doesn't mean this game is in the bag. Shannahan, like LaFleur, can be very creative at getting the best out of the team he has. So, the defense is going to have to play very disciplined in this one to ensure they don't embarrass themselves and make too many costly mistakes. 

Extra Notes

The Packers' last three wins have been due to their Special Teams making final second plays. Whether it be Brandon McManus' two game-winning field goals, or Karl Brooks' fingertips catching the ball to block an attempt, it's been an interesting change. We've grown so used to special teams kind of ruining games. Daniel Whelan also continues to be a weapon as the punter may have only had one punt last week, but it was a huge one going for 47 yards before being downed inside the 5-yard line. 

The 49ers haven't been as lucky, though. Their punter Mitch Wishnowsky has landed on IR, bringing in former Packer Pat O'Donnell to handle punting duties. Kicker Jake Moody has spent some time on the injury list as well, and when he's not, he's gone 17/21 on field goals. Three of those misses were two weeks ago vs. Tampa Bay. The Packers will be hoping to reverse some of the Special Teams misfortune they've had in the past against San Francisco and be on the positive end for once. 

In the End

The Packers have been handed a somewhat crippled 49ers team at home on a slab. I've mentioned before that the 49ers are responsible for five Packers playoff exits in the last 11 years. Well, if the Packers can take down San Francisco today, they could jeopardize the 49ers' chances of even making the playoffs. Granted other teams will be tough to beat, facing the 49ers yet again would just be ridiculous to endure a third straight playoff appearance getting knocked off by the same team. 

Here's to hoping that today the Packers take care of business and we're able to exorcise the the 49ers demon for this season. Go Pack Go.