The Battle of the Bays: Who Will Get to Continue to Play?
The San Francisco Bay 49ers with a record of 12-5 are arguably the best team in football. The Green Bay Packers at 9-8 and 1-0 in the playoffs are one of the hottest teams in football. After Saturday night's game at Levi's, only one will remain.
This will be the 10th playoff game between these two proud franchises. more postseason meetings than any other two teams in NFL history. The 49ers lead the series 5-4. They were 1-4 vs Brett Favre and 4-0 vs Aaron Rodgers. Now the Packers have a new Quarterback named Jordan Love, whom they are starting to love. Throwing to mostly rookie and second year weapons, Love has looked like one of the best Quarterbacks in the NFL the last 10 weeks, with a passer rating just two points lower than Brock Purdy's:
Both quarterbacks excel against the blitz and under pressure:
The Packers defense has a pretty solid front seven unit, but their secondary has struggled to keep pace. All world cornerback Jaire Alexander hasn't practiced this week with a sprained ankle which he re-aggravated in Dallas last weekend. Free safety Darnell Savage had a huge pick six wildcard weekend, but like most ball hawks he is prone to giving up big plays. The rest of the Packers secondary is liable to be picked on. Preston Smith and Rashan Gary are a formidable duo of bookend edge rushers. Kingsley Enegbare's ACL tear against the Cowboys significantly hindered their edge depth. Inside linebackers De'Vondre Campbell and Quay Walker are both good against the run, but not good at defending against passes over the middle of the field. This is music to the ears of any any 49ers fan who knows that Kyle Shanahan likes to feast on the middle of defenses:
The Packers offensive line is underrated. Ranked 8th by Pro Football Network, while the 49ers offensive line is ranked 15th. I really hope that John Feliciano gets the start at right guard over Spencer Burford.
On special teams, Neither team boasts reliable kicking, but the 49ers punter Mitch Wishnowski is one of the best. Especially at pinning opponents inside their 10-yard line. Don't be surprised if Deebo Samuel returns kickoffs.
The 49ers have the best running back in football in Christian McCaffrey. He led the league in rushing yards in every week of the 2023 season. That hasn't happened since Emmit Smith did it back in 1995. He is also arguably the best route running and receiving back as well. Aaron Jones for the Packers might be the next best thing for a dual threat running back in the NFL:
Arik Armstead is returning from plantar fasciitis, hopefully he can make it through the season without another flare up. Dre Greenlaw is coming back from an inflamed Achilles. Ambry Thomas just had hand surgery, but will play. Safety Ji'ayir Brown is coming back from knee injury, but I have concerns about the rookie even if he's 100% physically. Right guard Burford is another concern. So is right tackle Colton McKivitz. Rain has been a concern for me since the Browns game in Cleveland. The 49ers have barely played in any since then. The forecast has been all over the place this week. Even now one source says constant rain from 4pm to 4am, while the other says light rain here and there.
Some have said that the Ravens provided the blueprint of how to beat the 49ers. I disagree completely. No other team remaining in the playoffs has the Ravens defense, or Lamar Jackson. Even the Ravens defense would be very unlikely to duplicate their results from Christmas Day if the two teams were to meet again. Tipped balls typically fall harmlessly to the ground more than 96 percent of the time. Somehow the Ravens got three interceptions off of tipped balls. Nevermind that one of the tipped balls was actually uncalled defensive pass interference, when the defender played though George Kittle's back to get to the ball.
The 49ers are coming off a bye week after getting the No. 1 seed in the NFC. They also at least partially rested their stars and key starters vs. the Rams in week 18. There is likely to be some rust, but the 49ers are healthy and motivated. They will not take this Packers team lightly, even thought they have been playing for their season for the past four games and are likely exhausted.
The 49ers will win this battle of the bays. It should be a good game, but I expect the talent gap to show up later in the game. They will tie the Patriots for most all time postseason wins with a win on Saturday:
My official prediction is 49ers 35 - Packers 27. The more rain, the less confident I am.
