When the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers square off on Sunday night, it'll be a matchup between not only two of the NFC's best teams, but two of the NFL's premier clubs. Through 10 games, San Francisco sits atop the conference at 9-1, while Green Bay isn't too far behind at 8-2. This weekend's contest will go a long way towards proving which team is better, and that's a huge deal for the Packers.
To this point, Matt LaFleur's squad has worked through both a scheme and culture change. All-Pro quarterback Aaron Rodgers appears bought in, which says a lot. Enduring the league's ninth most difficult schedule thus far, the “Pack” seems to be back. On the contrary, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has navigated his squad through one of the league's easiest slates of games. Tough sledding lies ahead, though.
After playing the Packers, San Francisco has contests against playoff-caliber teams such as the Baltimore Ravens, New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks. If Rodgers and company can escape California with a road victory, it can rest easy knowing the NFC's No. 1 seed is still in play. Because Lambeau Field is such a difficult place to play, especially in the winter, ensuring the road to the Super Bowl goes through Wisconsin would be a tremendous boost.
Additionally, the MVP race is also an underlying theme surrounding this game. While other star quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson and Russell Wilson are dominating talks for the award, Rodgers was a leading candidate not too long ago. Because of his team's success, 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has had his name swirled around in conversations, too. Should Rodgers deliver a vintage performance on a nationally-televised broadcast, his odds will spike right back up. Rodgers knows how important the contest is:
“The way I look at it, we've got to beat them once at their place at some point… It would be nice to do it now.”
Every team searches for the elusive “statement game” each season. Sometimes, there are opportunities for more than one. The Packers' biggest chance at a statement game comes on Sunday. With a remaining slate of very winnable games on the horizon, it's not out of the question for Green Bay to win out. Because of a potential tiebreaker advantage over San Francisco, this would secure home-field advantage.
While the 49ers are a very good team, they don't have the same amount of pressure being placed upon them as the Packers do. Garoppolo has been fine this season and the team is in line for a high seed in the playoffs. That's a lot more than many expected. Rodgers is now 35 years old and should treat every remaining season he has as Super Bowl-or-bust.
In front of millions on NBC's Sunday Night Football, two of the most exciting teams in football will battle it out on the gridiron. The rest of the season, along with playoff seeding, hangs in the balance. Buckle up.
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