49ers Will Send Green Bay Packing

Packers vs. 49ers, 8:15 ET

We've reached the second round of the playoffs and that all-important bye week that two teams received is now over. We have eight teams left, one is last year's Super Bowl winner, the Chiefs, the NFC will get a new representative with the Eagles losing to the Buccaneers. Now we get the top dog 49ers taking on the Packers, a team that has a new quarterback this year, but still the same success from previous seasons.

The Packers have been on a bit of a roller coaster for the last seven or eight weeks. Well, if we are looking back further, they've been on a roller coaster all season and even the offseason. In the offseason, they had to deal with the Aaron Rodgers drama, and then during the season they had stretches of greatness and stretches of pure stinkdom (my own term). They started (and ended) the season with easy wins over the Bears. That's a pretty normal thing for the Green Bay franchise, but in between those games, we saw them drop four of five games to the Falcons, Lions, Raiders, Broncos, and Vikings. Then they won seven of their last ten games. Even during that stretch, they had some questionable losses as they fell to the Giants, and then at home to Buccaneers. Somehow, they came out on top and made the playoffs. They came to a game against the Cowboys and had to go into Dallas and beat a team that was 8-0 at home this year. They didn't just beat them, they kicked the crap out of the Cowboys. The Packers put up 48 points on the Cowboys and were able to blitz them and take them out of the game immediately. Now they are facing an even tougher defense in the 49ers, and a team that doesn't have history of choking in the playoffs.

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - JANUARY 14: Jordan Love #10 of the Green Bay Packers celebrates a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys during the third quarter of the NFC Wild Card Playoff game at AT&T Stadium on January 14, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

Shots at Dallas aside, the San Francisco 49ers are the real deal. They have an outstanding offense led by the dynamic running back Christian McCaffrey. They have two very good wide receivers in Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. Their tight end, George Kittle, is very solid even if he isn't quite as good as he was a few years ago. Quarterback, Brock Purdy, is not the best in the league, but he was in the conversation for MVP and has had a good season. He doesn't turn the ball over much and completed almost 70% of his passes this season. The defense, led by Nick Bosa, continues to give opponents fits and outside of one stretch during the season where they lost to the Browns, Vikings, and Bengals in a row, have done just about everything to keep the 49ers in games. And, in fairness to them, even in those three games, they only allowed 19, 22, and 31 points in those games. Their worst showing was when they allowed the Ravens to score 33 points in San Francisco. They didn't play Green Bay this year, but they've been good at stopping the opponent's running game and they are good enough that they don't need to hide any of their cornerbacks against receivers.

The Packers were a fun story, but I think this one comes to an end here. The Packers defense is pretty good, and they will likely sell out to stop McCaffrey. The thing is, the 49ers can beat you in many different ways. More importantly, this isn't Purdy's first playoff game, and they are playing at home. I don't think the Packers come in and lay down for San Francisco, but I'd be surprised if they keep the game close the whole time. I'm going to take the 49ers to win by 10 or more in this one and advance to the next round.

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