49ers set to Face the Packers in the Divisional Playoff Round

It's official.

The San Francisco 49ers will play host to the Green Bay Packers in the divisional playoff round. The Packers were one of the four teams (Buccaneers, Eagles, and Rams) that the 49ers could've possibly faced. With the Packers making easy work of the Dallas Cowboys, they automatically face the 49ers since they are the lowest seed.

This will be the third time that the 49ers will face the Packers in the playoffs under Kyle Shanahan. The two times prior were in 2020 when the 49ers hosted them in the NFC championship game in a blowout win. The other and last time they faced them was in 2022 in a snowy game at Green Bay where they won on a walk-off field goal.

San Francisco has held ownership over the Packers since 2019 in both the playoffs and the regular season. And that was when the Packers were more well rounded and had Aaron Rodgers. However, that does not mean the 49ers should overlook them. If anything, the Packers are more dangerous now than they ever were in their prior matchups with the 49ers.

For starters, they completely beatdown the Cowboys on the road. And while Dallas isn't as great of a team as they seem, the Packers deserve massive credit for how easily they dispatched them. They aren't even supposed to be here, so they have a "nothing to lose" mentality. They're also clicking with Aaron Jones who is turning back the clock to four years ago when he was elite.

And despite losing Aaron Rodgers in the offseason, the Packers still have a mighty fine quarterback in Jordan Love. He was extremely skittish in the first half of the season, but since then he has been one of the best NFC quarterbacks. The 49ers will emerge from their Bye week with a surging Packers team awaiting them. It is a matchup that initially looked to be a cakewalk, but now actually has some excitement and could prove to be a challenge for the 49ers.