When and how to watch the NFC Divisional Round game between the Packers and as well as important matchups and live streaming information,
their last nine games, which included postseason games, while tossing 21 touchdowns and only one interception.
Along with Hall of Famer Kurt Warner (1999), Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (2018), Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (2020), Love and 49ers starting quarterback Brock Purdy became just two of five quarterbacks to throw for at least 30 touchdowns and 4,000 passing yards in their first seasons as a full-time NFL starting quarterback.
The Cowboys had a 16-game home winning run before the Packers delivered them their first home setback since Week 1 of 2022 in the wild-card stage. Green Bay can hand head coach Kyle Shanahan his first-ever home playoff defeat in the NFC Divisional Round (enters 4-0). Since the playoffs expanded in 2020, clubs have a record of 0–6 in the wild-card stage; the 2023 Packers are the first No. 7 seed to win a playoff game.
After starting 3-6 or worse (3-6 through Week 10), will Green Bay become the first club to make it to a conference championship game, or will San Francisco make it to its fourth NFC title game in the previous five seasons? Here’s a detailed preview to look at that exact query.
How to observe
When: Saturday, January 20 at 8:15 p.m. Eastern Time
Location: Santa Clara, California’s Levi’s Stadium
TV: Fox | Stream: fubo (free trial available)
Observe: CBS Sports App
49ers -9.5; Over/Under 50.5
When the ball is in the Packers’ possession
With Love performing like she does today, everything is conceivable. When it comes to sacks (48, tied with many teams), pressure percentage (39.6%), and pass rush efficiency, the 49ers rank sixth in the league. Love has been just as good under duress during the Packers’ current winning streak of seven of their last nine games, during which he has thrown 21 touchdowns and one interception.
“Jordan Love, man. Whoa. After the Green Bay Packers defeated the Cowboys, head coach Matt LaFleur stated after the game, “That’s about all I can say, is wow.” “What he accomplished, his elegance, and his command are impressive. Dontayvion Wicks’ touchdown pass. It was clear that we were on an empty set. He had max protect, I believe, Tucker [Kraft], the tight end. Tuck and the rest of our offensive line did a fantastic job. and for him to persevere and pull off the throw. Wicks made an incredible grab. You can attempt to train such things, but what a time for him. That seemed like a big-time play to me. It only demonstrates his development from his first start against Kansas City to this point. I’m really delighted and thrilled for him. Yes, he really is a man. He’s a true gentleman.”
Under pressure, Love has eight touchdowns and zero interceptions with an 8.6 yard per throw attempt average. That number would be the seventh highest in the NFL for the entire 2023 regular season. The problem for San Francisco will arise if they are unable to pressure quarterbacks into the ground. This season, they have allowed the lowest completion percentage (58%) and the seventh-highest passing yards per attempt (6.6) to opposing quarterbacks while blitzing at the fifth-lowest rate in the NFL (22%).
Love has produced a perfect passer rating (158.3) under pressure during his previous three games—must-win encounters against the Vikings, Bears, and Cowboys—with 290 yards and four touchdowns on 17 of 21 passes. Love struggled against the Cowboys on Sunday, going only 5 of 7 for 152 yards and two touchdowns under pressure.
In terms of money, Love is similarly wonderful on the third down. In the previous nine games, he has thrown 11 touchdowns and 0 picks on third down. Additionally, San Francisco’s third-down conversion percentage allowed (41%) this season ranked 24th, making it a weak point.
Ground-level prospects exist for Green Bay as well. At first glance, it seems otherwise. Throughout the regular season, the 49ers allowed the third fewest running yards per game in the NFL, with 89.7. San Francisco, on the other hand, plays practically all of its games from ahead, which forces opponents to rely on tossing the football in an attempt to score. This fact has a significant impact on that number.
During the course of the 18-week regular season, San Francisco led the game for 11 hours, 10 minutes, and 20 seconds. That’s the greatest pace in the NFC and the second-highest in the NFL, only surpassed by the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens in the AFC (11:32:57). The 49ers were mediocre when it came to stopping the run. With a 6.54 projected points added, their run defence was the fourth lowest in the NFL. Their rush defence success rate, which is defined as the percentage of plays in which the team gains less than 50% of the 10 yards required for a new first down on first or second down and does not pick up a rushing first down on third or fourth down, was 53.9%, which ranked them 19th in the league.
Aaron Jones is thrilled to hear that. Against the Cowboys, Green Bay’s running back raced for postseason career highs of 118 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries—an extraordinarily efficient 5.6 yards per carry. In terms of running touchdowns in a wild-card round game, a road playoff game, and a Packers postseason game, the production equaled the NFL all-time records. Jones has the most career running touchdowns in Green Bay postseason history with seven.
Jones has scored more than 100 yards in four straight games, tying Ahman Green’s record from 2003 for the longest run in Packers history. Additionally, it’s the NFL’s longest current stretch of play. Green Bay has a chance to keep San Francisco’s defence off the field and punish the 49ers up front.
In 49ers possession of the ball
The contest that will determine the outcome of this game is between the 49ers offence and the Packers defence. Love is now playing football like a pro, and he has shown the ability to make all of his passes from every arm angle, whether they are rolling out or in the pocket. San Francisco’s defence has been among the best this season, but anything can happen with Love in his Rodgers-reborn form.
Similarly, the 49ers’ third-ranked scoring offence (28.9 points per game) presents a formidable challenge for the Packers defence. Last week, Green Bay’s opponent, Dallas, was basically playing CeeDee Lamb. The Cowboys truly didn’t have any reliable offensive threat after him. With the 49ers, that is not the case. They are the first team to have a 4,000-yard passer in Brock Purdy and four players with at least 1,000 scrimmage yards (RB Christian McCaffrey, WR Brandon Aiyuk, WR Deebo Samuel, and TE George Kittle) since the 2004 Indianapolis Colts, a team that featured three Pro Football Hall of Famers (QB Peyton Manning, RB Edgerrin James, and WR Marvin Harrison), as well as a 2024 Hall of Fame candidate (WR Reggie Wayne).
Four players with 1,000 scrimmage yards and a quarterback with 4,000 yards—The last two examples
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