The Green Bay Packers are heavy underdogs against the San Francisco 49ers. Nonetheless, they are not without a fighting chance.
While it will be a difficult task for the Packers to pull off an upset against the best team in the NFC throughout the 2023 season, it’s not an impossible mission. After all, they have already proven against the Dallas Cowboys that regular season records don’t matter in the postseason.
Of course it’s disrespectful to the 49ers to be compared to the Cowboys. They are simply in different leagues. Nonetheless, for the Packers to take down Kyle Shanahan’s men, they will need to bring out some of the formula they used to embarrass Dallas: Jordan Love and defense.
ESPN analyst and reporter Seth Walder shared as much in their recent preview for the 49ers vs. Packers game, noting that another Love masterclass should give the Green Bay franchise a shot at victory.
“The Packers could win, and it starts with Love — not just because he’s the quarterback but because of the type of quarterback he has evolved into over the course of the campaign. From Week 10 until the end of the regular season, Love finished second in QBR. The only signal-caller ahead of him? Dak Prescott, whom Love just outdueled in the wild-card round,” Walder wrote.
Of course the other key factor is defense. The Packers were a below-average team defensively during the regular season, and although they stepped up big time in the Wild Card round, there is still the possibility that they revert to their old habits.
With that said, as Walden emphasized, the Green Bay defense needs to be perfect come Saturday if they want to pull off another shocker–although that will be a tad more difficult with the recent injury to Kingsley Enagbare.
“Defensively, even though the Packers have been disappointing all season, this is still a talented group. Could the Packers put it all together in their biggest game of the season? It remains possible. Turnovers, lucky bounces and an A-game from their defense are probably all necessary for the Packers to pull off this upset. But it could happen,” Walder added.
Aaron Jones Confident on the Green Bay Packers vs. San Francisco 49ers
While many see the Green Bay Packers losing to the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round, the rest of the team isn’t getting discouraged.
In fact, after beating the Dallas Cowboys and winning four straight games now, they are brimming with confidence.
Running back Aaron Jones spoke about the team’s ability to slay the top dogs, sharing his belief that they have the “weapons” to beat any team.
“We believe in each other. We have faith in each other. We know we have all the weapons in the building, in that room, however you want to put it, we have all the weapons we need on this team. People can continue to doubt us. That’s fine. We love the underdog mentality. We love the underdog approach. What are people going to say next, you know? We’re excited to see that,” Jones shared.
If the Packers can replicate their Wild Card success and stay perfect on both sides of the ball, there’s no telling what they can do against the 49ers.
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