Both of the NFC divisional playoff games — 49ers/Packers and Buccaneers/Rams — are sequels to Week 3 games. In the case of the 49ers and the Packers, Green Bay got out to a 17-0 lead before San Francisco woke up and started scoring, and that’s why Kyle Shanahan had to play against type, with 21 rushing attempts and 40 passes. Shanahan never wants to be in a situation where Jimmy Garoppolo is throwing twice as many times as anybody is running, but it almost worked in this case.
The 49ers outscored the Packers 21-13 in the second half, and were it not for a 51-yard Mason Crosby field goal as time expired for a 30-28 Packers win, this would have gone down as one of the best comeback wins of the season. Garoppolo wound up with two second-half touchdown passes after a goose egg and an interception in the first half, and were it not for two deep passes from Rodgers to Davante Adams on Green Bay’s final drive, that might have been enough.
The Packers look now the way they looked in Week 3: Really, really good. They’ve also used the bye they earned as the NFC’s one-seed to get some crucial players back for this one. Left tackle David Bakhtiari, who was lost for most of the season to a knee injury, had 27 snaps against the Lions in the regular-season finale, and should be up for whatever the 49ers throw at him. Cornerback Jaire Alexander, who had been out since Week 4, and who had a crucial interception in that Week 3 game, has been activated from the COVID list and from injured reserve.
The 49ers have improved in the second half of the season on both sides of the ball — from 10th to fifth in Offensive DVOA, and from 16th to fourth in Defensive DVOA.
If Matt LaFleur is going to unseat old buddy Kyle Shanahan’s squad in the rematch, here are three keys to doing just that.