Packers and 49ers battle for the top seed in the NFC
The Green Bay Packers are back on the field this Sunday night after a week off and will be on the road vs the San Francisco 49ers.
The Packers are 8-2 and return to action after their bye week. Their last game was a thrilling 24-16 home victory over the Carolina Panthers. The 49ers are 9-1 after a 36-26 home victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
The 49ers acquired QB Jimmy Garoppolo in a mid-season trade with the New England Patriots in 2017 and the team has rarely lost when he has been in the starting lineup. They made another huge acquisition this season when they acquired WR Emmanuel Sanders. TE George Kittle has been hard for teams to stop when he is on the field, and the Packers have struggled in covering tight ends lately, so that will be a huge task for them to slow Kittle down. The 49ers have a great running game. Tevin Coleman, Matt Breida, and Raheem Mostert all have300+ yards rushing although Breida has been ruled out for Sunday’s game. The Packers will have their hands full in trying to slow down this 49er offense.
Aaron Rodgers and the offense are at their best when they spread the ball around. They are especially good when they get both Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams involved in both the running and passing game. Davante Adams put up some huge receiving numbers vs Carolina, but I am sure that the 49ers will try to contain him and force another receiver to beat them. Veteran CB Richard Sherman is still capable of making huge plays and rookie DE Nick Bosa is a disruptive force. They thrive on sacking the quarterback and getting turnovers.
The 49ers have won 5 Super Bowls in a 14-year span, but their last Super Bowl victory came during the 1994-95 season. In fact, after that year, the Packers have eliminated them 3 years in a row. They have had many down years since their last championship and some good years, but they have so far been unable to add another Vince Lombardi Trophy to their collection.
Both Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers have had a lot of success vs the 49ers from 1995-2011, but in a 2-season span, the Packers lost 4 straight games vs San Francisco, 2 coming in the regular season and 2 in the playoffs, the only extended success the 49ers have had over the Packers since before Favre came to Green Bay. The Packers have won their last 2 games vs San Francisco and they obviously want to continue that success this Sunday night.
The Packers have had quite a bit of success this year with an 8-2 record in their first 10 games, but the bye week came at a great time. They were able to rest some injuries and hopefully addressed a lot of their weaknesses. I would like to see the defense come out and have a great game. They have been giving up yards but got many key stops in their wins. A great example is the goal-line stand they had against Carolina to preserve the victory.
I believe that turnovers will be a huge factor in who wins this game. Field position will be important. The Packers need to keep themselves in manageable third-down situations. The defense needs to get stops and get off the field. I think that both teams would like to lean on their running game this Sunday night, so it is important that the Packers don’t find themselves trailing by multiple scores so they can continue to utilize all of their offensive weapons.
A lot of critics will point to the 49ers having a soft schedule so far. Usually, the counter-argument is that you can only play the teams that are on your schedule, and the 49ers have beaten all of their opponents with losing records, although there have been some close calls like their two games vs the Cardinals.
All that really matters is what happens going forward. Whoever wins this game will take over the top seed in the NFC. This game is also significant because both teams have a slim lead in their respective divisions. This is a huge opportunity for the Packers to prove before a national audience that they are a serious title contender.
“All gas, no brake” has been the theme for the Packers lately. They need to put that saying into practice this Sunday night. The Packers are rested and I believe that they will go out and get a huge win on Sunday. Let’s get it done and set the tone for the rest of the season!
Go Pack Go!
@DieHardPackrFan #DHPF #GregGoshaw @gg901
