The Green Bay Packers take on the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round of the 2013 NFL playoffs in an NFC Semi-Final showdown Saturday at 8 p.m. EST on FOX.
The Packers and 49ers last met at the beginning of the season in week one when San Francisco dealt Green Bay a 30-22 loss, a score that betrays how much of a punishing defeat the game really was. Running back Frank Gore easily tore open the Packers' backfield with 16 carries for 112 yards on the ground, quarterback Alex Smith completed 20 for 26 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns, and the 49ers defense sacked Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers three times, dominating the line of scrimmage throughout.
But a lot of time has passed since week one and much has changed for both teams.
Since then, Green Bay's offense has become more balanced and its defense is playing smarter, more conservative football than it was in September.
"I don't think we had our identity at that point," QB Rodgers said of the Packers team San Francisco beat. "We were trying a lot of different things."
San Francisco, too, looks different. After Smith suffered a concussion in week 10, second-year QB Colin Kaepernick has taken his place with surprising success. Despite Smith's return to health, Kaepernick has held the starting spot because of his explosiveness and diverse bag of tricks. Since starting late in late November the young QB has completed 62.7 percent of his passes with 10 touchdowns and just three interceptions.
Kaepernick has suffered the kind of growing pains associated with any young QB, but he's also a huge part of the reason Wide Receivers Michael Crabtree and Randy Moss have had increasingly larger roles to play in each game. The 25-year-old has an undeniably stronger arm than Smith, and his raw athleticism give the 49ers plenty of opportunities to utilize the zone-read option that's made the team one of the most feared, unpredictable offenses in the NFL.
Crabtree will be an essential piece of establishing a solid offense against the brutal Green Bay defense lead by linebacker Clay Matthews. The fourth-year wide receiver had the finest season from any 49ers receiver since 2003, setting career marks with 85 receptions for 1,105 yards and nine touchdowns, and was electric in week 17, catching eight passes for 172 yards and two trips to the end zone.
The Packers defense has been playing some of its tightest football all season as of late, though, so it's likely to keep Crabtree and Co. honest. Green Bay held NFL leading rusher Adrian Peterson to 99 yards when the team beat the Minnesota Vikings, 100 yards less than he dealt the team the previous match-up.
Green Bay's offense is going to be key once again if the team wants to keep its playoff hopes alive. If Rodgers can continue to play at the elite level he has all season long, nothing else should matter. In his seven career playoff appearances, when Rodgers plays well, Green Bay is victorious. In the five wins he's scored while with the Packers, Rodgers has recorded 12 touchdowns and only two interceptions and averaged 273 passing yards a game. If the star QB can manage to not turn the ball over, the 49ers defense is going to have work some extra magic Saturday.
Either way, this should be one of the most exciting games of divisional playoffs weekend.
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.