GREEN BAY WIS. — Green Bay PackersPlayed the San Francisco 49ersTwo years ago, the most important storyline in the playoffs was the coaching relationship — almost a brotherhood — of Matt LaFleur with Kyle Shanahan.
LaFleur was the first-year Packers head coach. one of his mentors and close friends.
We last saw Matt LaFleur, Kyle Shanahan, together.
Next weekend, the Handshake round 2 at Lambeau pic.twitter.com/hEDZvDRtEh
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) January 17, 2022
Two years later, the two teams are set to meet at Lambeau Field in Saturday’s NFC divisional round playoff game (8:15 p.m.). ET, Fox), they’re the story again.
It’s for a completely different reason.
Cue the video of the postgame handshake from the Packers’ last-second win over the 49ers in Week 3.
Even before “The Handshake,” there was talk of bad blood between the two stemming from the 49ers’ run at Packers quarterback Aaron RodgersLast offseason. Both sides played down the issue before and after the game. However, not everyone was convinced that everything was perfect between them. It will be a hot topic all week.
The coaching relationship isn’t the only thing that has changed about this matchup.
The Week 3 game – which the Packers won with two Rodgers-to-Davante AdamsCompleted and a 51 yard Mason CrosbyGoal for walk-off on the field all in the final 37 seconds and without a timeout – was the start of the ugliest stretch of the season for the 49ers. This was the start of a losing streak that lasted three games and five losses in six.
But San Francisco is 8-2 in its last 10 games, including Sunday’s 23-16 upset of the third-seeded Dallas CowboysYou can also travel in the wild-card round.
Since the Packers first saw the 49ers on Sept. 26, their biggest difference is their quarterback. Jimmy GaroppoloThey also run a running game.
Packers cornerback Jaire AlexanderGaroppolo was intercepted in Week 3. This was one of eight weeks in which Garoppolo threw at least 1 interception. Garoppolo was 0-6 in those games and 0-7 in games without one. He was significantly more efficient during the second half. Garoppolo finished the regular season ranked seventh in NFL Total QBR, and second in yards per attempt.
The Packers also didn’t have to face 49ers leading rusher Elijah MitchellThe shoulder injury prevented him from playing in the game. The 49ers ran only 67 yards on 21 runs. Mitchell led the 49ers with 963 yards of rushing in 11 games. He was tied for 12th place in the NFL with a 4.7 yard average carry. On Sunday, Mitchell rushed for 96 yards with a touchdown against Cowboys. The Packers were 11th in the NFL for rushing defense with 109.1 yards per match, but they were 30th in rushing yards allowed each carry (giving up 4.7 yards per rush).
This will be the fifth meeting between Shanahan and LaFleur since the beginning of the 2019 season. All of the previous four meetings, including playoffs were played at the 49ers. LaFleur lost both in the 2019 season – 37-8 in the regular season and 37-20 in the NFC Championship Game – but won in 2020 (34-17) and in the Week 3 game this season (30-28).
There’s also the weather element. The Saturday forecast is for a high temperature of 21 degrees and low temperatures of 3 degrees. The temperatures at the kickoff for the four previous meetings in Northern California were 69 – 78 – 58 – 63 degrees.