The matchup is set. After earning the top seed in the NFC playoffs and a bye week during the Wild Card round, the Green Bay Packers know who they will be facing next week in the Divisional round of the playoffs: The San Francisco 49ers.
The sixth-seeded 49ers won a wild game on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys and after the seventh-seeded Eagles lost earlier in the day to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Francisco was the lowest seed to advance to the next round, meaning they will take on the top seeded Packers.
These two teams have matched up plenty of times over the years, including earlier in the 2021 season. Back in Week 3 the Packers and Niners faced off in San Francisco and the Packers were able to pull out a 30-28 victory on a Mason Crosby 51 yard field goal as time expired. The Packers got the ball back with 37 seconds left on the clock after Niners QB Jimmy Garoppolo threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Kyle Juszczyk.
37 seconds was all Aaron Rodgers needed to drive into field goal range and set up Crosby for the win.
Now, this time around, the game will be in Green Bay and it's forecast to be a cold night at Lambeau Field. These two teams have a lot of history against each other in recent years, especially in the playoffs and the Niners have gotten the best of Green Bay each of the last three times they've faced each other in the postseason. The Packers suffered playoff losses in 2012, 2013, and most recently 2019 at the hands of the 49ers.
With the Packers victory over San Francisco back in Week 3, plus the returns of players like David Bakhtiari, Josh Myers, and possibly Jaire Alexander, Za'Darius Smith, Randall Cobb, and Billy Turner, confidence is high for the Packers this time around.
Both teams are far different now than they were back in Week 3, but the Packers have the upper hand on paper, and Green Bay opened a -5.5 point betting favorite.
The NFL announced that the Packers-49ers game is scheduled for Saturday night at 7:15 pm.