Packers Preview: Week 3 @ San Francisco

By Monte Perez:

The (1-1) Green Bay Packers will travel out west to take on the (2-0) San Franciso 49ers. The Game will be played Sunday Night, 8:20 PM Eastern Time on NBC.

After losing to the Saints, 38-3 in week one, Green Bay came back with a vengeance and defeated the Detroit Lions, 35-17. Aaron Jones had 4 total touchdowns and Devante Adams had 8 catches for over 100 yards. The San Franciso 49ers have won 2 games this season in totally different ways. On opening day, they defeated the Lions 41-33. Last week they battled the Eagles to the end and came away with a 17-11 win. Both teams are trying to overcome injuries to key players. David Bakhtiari and Za’Darius Smith will not play for Green Bay. That is two great players lost on the offensive and defensive line. Running back Raheem Mostert will miss at least 8 games with a knee injury.

Prediction:

The Packers have lost 4 of their last 5 games in California. Aaron Rodgers is 5-6 vs SF and 0-3 in playoff games. There is an old saying in boxing, “styles make fights.” This is a nightmare matchup for the Green Bay Packers. The 49ers’ strength is their running game, the Packers’ weakness is defending the run. The last two times these teams played, When the 49ers were healthy, SF outscored them, 74-28. I expect SF to rush for over 150 yards and control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Jimmy Garoppolo and a stable of running backs will have possession of the ball for over 36 minutes. Deebo Samuel has 15 catches and 282 receiving yards over the first two games.

Green Bay is a finesse team and they will get pushed around by Kyle Shanahan’s team. The Packers will struggle on both sides of the ball.