Green Bay Packers: Final Thoughts on NFC Championship Game

Here are some final thoughts on today’s NFC Championship game between the Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers.

Well, at least for me, this has felt like a really long week waiting for the NFC Championship game. But it is almost here!

The Green Bay Packers enter as heavy underdogs and I’m sure by now that everyone reading this is tired of hearing from he national media that they have no chance. Will it be easy? Not at all. But this is a team that went 13-3 in the regular season and they are just one game away from the Super Bowl. I certainly think they deserve more credit than what they’ve gotten.

However, that is neither here nor there and what happens on the field will be what decides it all. So with kickoff just around the corner, here are my final thoughts on the upcoming matchup between the Packers and Niners.

• Not to over simplify things, but winning in the trenches will be huge for the Green Bay Packers. They need to make the 49ers respect the run which will help neutralize their pass-rush. And defensively, Green Bay needs to slow the Niners’ run game and put the ball in Jimmy Garoppolo’s hands.
• Garoppolo has shown that he can make some poor decisions, so pressuring him will be key and hopefully this opportunistic defense can capitalize a time or two.
• For as good as San Francisco has been all season, they are surprisingly average in the red zone on both sides of the ball. Their offense scores a red zone touchdown on 53.3 percent of their visits (ranks 21st) and their defense allows red zone touchdowns 60 percent of the time (ranks 23rd).
• I mentioned it in the first bullet point, but it is so crucial that the Niners respect the run game. If their defensive front and secondary knows that a pass is coming, Green Bay stands little chance.
• We shouldn’t have to see Alex Light guard Nick Bosa this time!
• In the first meeting the Niners’ RBs averaged nearly six yards per carry and the passing game had a number of big plays. But to the Packers’ credit, they’ve been much better against the run and limiting the big play in the seven games since.
• A lower scoring game will benefit the Packers.
• The Niners have what most would consider the best secondary in the NFL this season and of course, Davante Adams is going to draw a lot of attention. Meaning, Allen Lazard and Jimmy Graham need to step up and have big performances.
• While the 49ers may have a number of matchups in their favor, Green Bay has the ultimate equalizer in Aaron Rodgers.
• It goes without saying, but in Week 12 Green Bay was 1-15 on third downs, that can’t happen again.
• If the Packers fall behind by more than a score, I’m not sure that their offense has the fire power to comeback against this Niner defense. And it could be a recipe for disaster.
• We need all hands on deck when it comes to defending George Kittle.
• Despite what many have said, this is an improved Packers team since Week 12. Rodgers is coming off his best game and Adams has been unstoppable the last four games. We’ve seen Tyler Ervin, Allen Lazard, and Chandon Sullivan emerge since then and Matt LaFleur’s play-calling since the Chicago game has been excellent even if the execution wasn’t always there. Lastly, as I already mentioned, they’ve been much better at limiting big plays and defending the run.
• It doesn’t mean they will, but the Packers can beat any team on any Sunday.
• And regardless of how this game ends, this season was an absolute success.

A year ago this time, the Packers had recently hired Matt LaFleur to take over as the head coach and we were all looking ahead to free agency and the NFL draft. But oh how quickly things can change. Your Green Bay Packers are now just four quarters away from the Super Bowl, and that leads me into my final thought which is: Go Pack Go.