The Green Bay Packers are preparing to face the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. The Week 12 matchup sees two teams vying for a spot in the NFL Playoffs. Green Bay is 7-3 and currently just the sixth seed in the NFC because the Detroit Lions are 9-1 and the Minnesota Vikings are 8-2. San Francisco, meanwhile, is 5-5, tied with two other teams in their division, and a game behind the 6-4 Arizona Cardinals in the NFC West.
But the game between the Packers and 49ers on Sunday is, in many ways, a great deal more than “just another game,” or a contest between two teams fighting for postseason position. It is a matchup between two franchises with a long history against each other, with one of them dominating when it mattered the most in recent years.
Green Bay Packers Quarterbacks Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers Had Very Different Careers vs the San Franciso 49ers
The rivalry between Green Bay and San Francisco really began in the 1990s when Brett Favre starred for the Packers. In seven regular season games played against them, Favre had an 88.8 passer rating, 1,808 yards, 12 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
Most importantly, the Packers were 6-1 in those games.
Favre led Green Bay in five additional games against San Francisco in the NFL Playoffs as well. He posted a 104.7 passer rating, threw for 1,161 yards, eight touchdowns, and three interceptions in those games.
Most importantly, the Packers went 4-1.
Overall, Favre was 12-2 against San Francisco for his career.
Aaron Rodgers, on the other hand, faced the team he grew up rooting for nine times in the regular season during his tenure in Green Bay. He posted a 107.5 passer rating, threw for 2,597 yards, 20 touchdowns, and just two interceptions in those games.
And the Packers went 6-3.
But the playoffs were a much different story.
In four career postseason games against San Francisco, Rodgers had a 95.0 passer rating, 985 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions.
Most importantly, and unfortunately, the Packers went 0-4.
Overall, Rodgers had a 6-7 record against the 49ers during his time in Green Bay but never was able to beat them when it mattered the most.
NFL Analyst Says Jordan Love’s Career Could Be Defined by His Success (or Lack Thereof) vs the 49ers
As Packers fans know all too well, Green Bay’s playoff run was ended, once again, by San Francisco in the Divisional Round last year. In that game, current quarterback Jordan Love threw for 194 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.
While it is still early in his career, there is little question that both Green Bay and San Francisco will continue to be contenders and will face each other multiple times in important games. It has been this way for the better part of 30 years, after all.
And the 49ers have recently dominated the Packers in the postseason, where games matter the most.
Love has a chance to make a name for himself if he can help lead Green Bay past San Francisco, not just one Sunday but also in future playoff matchups.
Bill Bender of The Sporting News wrote:
“The Packers-49ers rivalry helped define the careers of Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers during their time in Green Bay
“Favre was 12-2 against San Francisco for the Packers, including a 4-1 record in the playoffs. Rodgers was 6-7 against San Francisco with a 0-4 record in the postseason. Those are stats that matter in this classic NFC rivalry.
“Which brings us to Jordan Love. The Green Bay quarterback had 194 yards, two TDs, and two interceptions in the 24-21 loss to the 49ers in the NFC divisional playoffs last season. Green Bay might own Chicago, but San Francisco is a different story. The Packers are 7-3, but those three losses are against playoff contenders in Philadelphia, Minnesota, and Detroit. San Francisco might be 5-5, but they are still in that weight class when healthy.
“So, yeah, this is a gotta-have-it game for the Packers just as much as the 49ers, and Green Bay has won four of the past five regular-season meetings.”
It is interesting to realize that Green Bay has won four of the last five regular season meetings with San Francisco. Any Packers fan asked about playing San Francisco will likely not relish in the regular season victories, but rather bemoan Rodgers and Green Bay’s failure to get past them in the postseason, and Love’s inability to do so last year.
Winning on Sunday is important to the Packers’ current playoff push, but it likely will not be a game fans look back on in awe unless Love goes absolutely crazy.
The awe and admiration will come if he can help lead them to victory in the postseason.
