Green Bay Packers v. 49ers: 7 Big Questions about Upcoming Matchup

Can the Green Bay Packers generate consistent pressure?

I noted that the Niners have 52 total pressures this season, for some context, the Green Bay Packers have only 26. Through two games they have struggled to get any sort of consistent pressure on the quarterback–and it won’t be any easier this week.

The 49ers’ offensive line has yet to allow a sack, according to PFF ($$), and they’ve given up only seven pressures. To make matters even more difficult, Jimmy Garoppolo gets the ball out of his hands quickly, averaging just 2.5 seconds per pass–the seventh quickest in football.

Will Green Bay establish and stick to the run?

We again saw how crucial the run game and Aaron Jones are to the success of this Green Bay Packers offense–just look at the differences in the offensive performances from Week 1 to Week 2. So for that reason alone, sticking with the run is going to be crucial to their success in San Francisco.

Last week’s game against Detroit was a great example of how teams don’t have to accumulate huge carry totals in order for the run game to be deemed a success. The Green Bay running backs averaged only 3.9 yards per rush and the longest carry was only nine yards, but the Lions defense respected that the Packers could decide to run the ball at any time–and that is what matters.

Against the 49ers, there is the very real possibility that the Green Bay defense struggles to get stops, and that could turn Matt LaFleur and Rodgers one-dimensional as we’ve seen in the past. However, that is not at all the recipe for success for this offense. In fact, against this Niners pass rush, that will spell trouble. It’s a must that the Packers establish and stick to the run game.

Can the Green Bay Packers passing game find success?

It’s going to be up to the Green Bay Packers offensive line to give Rodgers time to throw, but if they can, both he and the Packer receivers should be able to find some success in the passing game against these 49ers’ cornerbacks.

In a recent article where I spoke with Peter Panacy of Niner Noise, when asked what the weakness of this Niners team was, Peter didn’t hesitate to name the cornerback position:

"“It’s the cornerback crop, plain and simple. San Francisco losing Jason Verrett to an ACL tear was a big blow. And while the 49ers have received excellent play from fifth-round rookie Deommodore Lenoir through two weeks, he’s still a rookie. That’s always a question mark. And it’s unclear whether or not the Niners grabbing Josh Norman and Dre Kirkpatrick off the free-agent scrap heap will be adequate enough.”"

Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts averaged 8.3 yards per attempt in Week 2 against this Niners’ secondary, totaling 190 yards, while Jared Goff threw for 338 yards, although that number is a bit inflated due to some success in garbage time.

The focus for this Green Bay Packers offense should still be on getting Jones the ball and making the 49ers defense respect the run game, but when they do pass, if Rodgers has time, there will be the opportunity for them to find some success through the air–just don’t become one-dimensional.