The Green Bay Packers’ surprising 48-32 rout of the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday secured their ticket to next weekend’s NFC divisional round, where they will meet a familiar foe, the San Francisco 49ers.
As the lowest seed remaining in the NFC, the No. 7 Green Bay Packers (10-8) draw the No. 1 San Francisco 49ers (12-5) in what will be an NFL-record 10th playoff meeting between the two franchises. The game is scheduled for Saturday at 8:15 p.m. ET.
The San Francisco 49ers, who own a 5-4 playoff edge over the Packers, have won the past four playoff matchups, the last one coming in 2021, when the 49ers defeated Green Bay, 13-10, in the divisional round at Lambeau Field. In fact, the 49ers haven’t lost in the postseason to Green Bay since 2001.
Not only are the teams quite familiar with one another, so are the head coaches. The 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan and the Packers’ Matt LaFleur worked together on coaching staffs in Houston, Washington and Atlanta dating back to 2008 before moving onto their current coaching gigs in 2017 and 2019, respectively.
In head-to-head encounters, Shanahan has a 3-2 record against LaFleur, with the two losses coming at Levi’s Stadium in 2020 and 2021.
That’s enough with the Green Bay Packers-San Francisco 49ers history lesson. A trip to the NFC championship game will be at stake at Levi’s Stadium, with the 49ers already installed as an early 10-point favorite.
Here are the top three storylines heading into next weekend.
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1. How the San Francisco 49ers can stop Jordan Love
Jordan Love is the NFL’s hottest quarterback, coming off a wild-card round game in which he shredded the Dallas Cowboys’ defense for 272 yards and three touchdowns on 16-of-21 passing. If not for an incompletion on his final pass, Love would have achieved the fifth perfect QB rating (158.3) in NFL playoff history.
Over the past nine games, Love has tossed 20 TD passes and only one interception and has led the Packers to a 7-2 record. As a extra compliment to Love, who’s in his first year as a starting quarterback, he has performed better than his predecessor, Aaron Rodgers, did before signing with the New York Jets.
Playing the 49ers, who rank eighth in total defense, Love will look to take advantage of a 49ers defense that is more susceptible against the pass. The 49ers are stout up front, and will bring plenty of pressure with Nick Bosa and Chase Young coming off the edges.
But Love has looked poised and up to the task, especially against the Cowboys, whom he picked apart with ease. For Love to be set up for success, he’ll need another great game from running back Aaron Jones, who’s rushed for more than 100 yards the past four weeks.
The better Jones is able to churn out yards against the 49ers, the more prime opportunities Love will have to find golden opportunities in the passing game.
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2. How the Green Bay Packers can slow the 49ers’ offensive weapons
If any team provided a blueprint for beating the San Francisco 49ers, it was the Baltimore Ravens, who came into Levi’s Stadium and handed the 49ers a 33-13 whipping.
It all started with their ability to force 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy into making mistakes, either with disguised coverages or with quick pressure. The Ravens intercepted Purdy four times, and that defused a 49ers offense that relies on getting the ball to its multitude of weapons, such as Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle.
Where the Packers have issues is against the run, where they rank 28th in the league. That will be a problem if Shanahan feeds a heavy dose of McCaffrey, who led the NFL in rushing yards by a large margin (1,459 yards) and touchdowns (21).
The Packers are much better against the pass (ninth overall), as they showed against the Cowboys with a pair of pick-sixes. But if the Packers are unable to keep McCaffrey from gashing them for big gains, that will open up the passing attack for Purdy to deliver the football to his athletes in space.
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3. How the young Green Bay Packers can alter history
The Green Bay Packers have the youngest active roster in the NFL, with an average age of 25.7 years. They weren’t expected to make their biggest strides until next season, after Love had at least one season as a starting quarterback under his belt.
But the Packers surprisingly accelerated the timeline, with Love as the catalyst. Most of the Packers weren’t around for the last game against the 49ers and might be young enough to not care much about their franchise’s playoff history against the 49ers.
On the other hand, the 49ers have one of the most experienced, talented, and playoff-hardened rosters in the NFL. They’ve had a week off to rest, to heal their late-season wounds, and to prepare themselves for any opponent.
As we’ve already seen, seedings and records mean very little in the playoffs. The Cowboys hadn’t lost a home game all season until the Packers came into AT&T Stadium and blew them out. If they play with the same level of execution next weekend, no outcome would be a shock, even one that sends Green Bay to the NFC championship game.