The Green Bay Packers are set to host the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Divisional Round after the Niners managed to steal a win in Dallas. While many were surprised by the Cowboys' inability to win at home despite entering the game as favorites, it seems that Packers head coach Matt LaFleur wasn't caught off guard one bit. When discussing his preparations for the Divisional Round, LaFleur unleashed a subtle jab at the Cowboys, claiming that he had been expecting to face the 49ers on Saturday, via Ryan Wood.
Matt LaFleur says #Packers anticipated 49ers might be coming to Lambeau Field this week, so they started prep on them on bye last week. "That's just the respect we have for them."
Also lots of familiarity already: "There are certain things we know we want to do in every phase."
— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) January 19, 2022
LaFleur's comments were essentially a thinly veiled diss of the Cowboys, though it's unclear if that's how he meant it to come out. LaFleur revealed the Packers started to prepare for the 49ers last week, operating under the impression that they'd be pitted up against one another in Divisional Round.
Of course, that would imply that LaFleur expected the Cowboys to fold on their home turf, which is exactly what happened in the Wild Card bout at AT&T Stadium. This also suggests that LaFleur and the Packers had little doubt that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would take care of business against the Philadelphia Eagles in their playoff opener. Well, he was right in that regard as well, with Brady and the Bucs delivering a brutal beatdown of Jalen Hurts' Eagles.
Hopefully, the additional preparation for a matchup with the 49ers ends up paying off for the Packers. They made a bold move by assuming they'd be up against the 49ers, but now that it's come true, they need to make the most of their extra week of rest.
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