San Francisco 49ers vs Green Bay Packers Predictions, Odds, Picks

• San Francisco 49s WR turned RB Deebo Samuel a big factor now in that offense
• The Packers are well rested after the first-round bye their number one seed bought them
• Green Bay has won 14 of their last 15 home matchups at Lambeau Field.

Niners vs Packers Odds

For the San Francisco 49s to come close to outscoring QB Aaron Rodgers’ Green Bay Packers, QB Jimmy Garoppolo will have to prove he can take care of the ball and find the end zone more often, his WR turned RB Deebo Samuel a big factor now in the offense, as is the other part of the Niners’ powerful run game, rookie Elijah Mitchell, who is tough to tackle once he gets going.

Now the Green Bay Packers are well rested after the first-round bye their number one seed bought them, with the other advantage of being tops in the NFC being that they get to play in front of their Lambeau Field hometown crowd, this team 15-1 there over the last two seasons thanks in part to QB Aaron Rodgers, WR Davante Adams, and the Packers’ top-9 defense.

These two NFC rivals have played each other 71 prior times (including 8 postseason games), with the Green Bay Packers winning 38 of those games and the San Francisco 49ers winning 32 of the games, plus there has been one tie.

San Francisco 49ers vs Green Bay Packers Predictions

Can the Niners QB Jimmy Garoppolo Take Better Care of the Ball?

Only once in his eight-year NFL career has San Francisco 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo thrown more interceptions (13) than he has this season (12), the team leader with five picks in his last three games, a factor that has some wondering where he will be playing next season.

Of course, winning answers all those questions and a solid playoff run would do wonders for Jimmy G’s future, but against this 7th ranked Packers passing defense, he might want to continue counting on the Niners’ scary run game to gain most of the team’s yards.

This season Garoppolo has completed 301 passes for 3,810 yards and 20 touchdowns, decent numbers that have him ranked 12th at his position, good enough to take his 10-7 team to the Divisional Round of the playoffs to face this outstanding Packers team.

Can the Well-Rested Green Bay Packers Pick Up Where They Left Off?

One worry about a bye week is that a team can get out of sync with where they left off, which is a good thing if they were slumping, but it could be bad in the case of the Packers who were on a roll winning four of their last five games of the regular season.

But with QB Aaron Rodgers suffering from a serious toe injury and the rest of his teammates all banged up the way pro players tend to be after seventeen games banging heads and crashing into each other, a week of rest should benefit HC Matt Lafleur’s team greatly and give them an edge.

The other major factor in this matchup is the advantage that the Packers have at home, with the Lambeau crowd on board with making maximum noise when the other team’s offense is on the field, a twelfth man advantage that’s resulted in a two-season 15-1 home record for Green Bay.

Niners Key Player: (WR) Deebo Samuel

In a brilliant mid-season move by Niners HC Kyle Shanahan, one of the team’s top young wide receivers, Deebo Samuel, was suddenly given carries out of the backfield, proof that the ‘give your playmakers the ball and let them work’ philosophy is a solid way to game plan.

Samuel is a six-foot 215-pound ball of energy who can make quick cuts and power through potential tackles, a great route runner who always seems to get open, so far this season he has caught 77 passes for 1,405 yards and 6 touchdowns from various starting quarterbacks.

On top of that aerial production, on the ground Samuel was just as solid, carrying the ball 59 times for 365 yards and 8 touchdowns, a dual-threat that makes this San Fran offense difficult to defend, his mere presence giving the other 49ers more open field to make their own moves.

Packers Key Player: (WR) Davante Adams

The third most productive WR in the league this year was Green Bay’s Davante Adams, an eight-year pro who has found the perfect QB to work with in Aaron Rodgers, the two now arguably the scariest passing duo in the league, especially when it comes to the deep threat.

At 6’ 1” and 215 pounds, Adams has the size to fight for contested catches while possessing the speed to run quick routes and get open, and his hands are soft enough to catch most balls thrown his way, this season with 123 receptions for 1,553 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Watch for Adams to get double-teamed as he gets double-digit targets in this critical matchup, a playmaker who is no stranger to the end zone after leading the league in receiving touchdowns last season with eighteen scores.

How to Watch Niners vs Packers