The Green Bay Packers are coming off a shocking but very exciting wild card win against the Dallas Cowboys beating them 48-32. It was a game where the Packers dominated in every facet of the game and embarrassed Dallas at home. It was an impressive playoff debut from Jordan Love as he looks ahead to the San Francisco 49ers next week.

Wrong Side of History

The Green Bay Packers have been very unsuccessful against the 49ers in the playoffs, especially in recent years. They suffered a 13-10 loss in the 2021 divisional round at home where a blocked punt flipped the game. In 2019 they were also picked apart by Raheem Mostert and the running game en route to a 37-20 loss in the NFC Championship.

While the Packers hold the all-time record against the 49ers at 38-33-1, their playoff success against them hasn’t been encouraging winning their last playoff game against them coming in 2001. They’ll be looking to change that trend this season as they come in as pretty sizable underdogs. They are listed at +365 underdogs according to the sports books.

Ride the Momentum

The best thing the Green Bay Packers can do coming into this game is to ride their momentum. They are on a four-game win streak and just beat the #2 seed who had won their last 16 games at home. Nobody picked Green Bay to win last week, and it’s expected nobody picks them again this week.

The 49ers are talented on both sides of the ball and have home field advantage along with an amazing head coach. The Packers must ride their young talent and continue to trust that Matt LaFleur will let Love and the offense stay poised. Joe Barry must also continue to find ways as he’s done in recent weeks to give different looks and confuse Brock Purdy and company.

With multiple weapons on offense, stopping the 49ers explosive offense won’t be easy. It is definitely a tall task but with the right gameplay and execution, the Green Bay Packers have a chance to pull off a second straight upset.

Stopping the Run

The Green Bay Packers run defense has always been a major issue. It was another one this season as they ranked as a bottom five run defense. That doesn’t bode well as they are set to face Christian McCaffrey who may the best back in the NFL.

It’ll be very important for Joe Barry and the defense to do all things possible to stop CMC and put the game in the hands of Brock Purdy. While Purdy has been very good this season, the Packers are better off if McCaffrey isn’t dominating.

CMC is coming off multiple weeks of rest allowing him to get healthy which means he should be getting many touches. It should be a fun game as the future is definitely bright for the Packers who are the youngest team in the NFL.

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Javier Delgado is a lifelong Packers fan who is currently majoring in sports journalism at Arizona State University. He writes for PackersTalk.com and you can follow him on twitter at @javierrdelgadoo.

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