Packers need to turn tables on 49ers
Seventh in a 13-part series on the opponents the Green Bay Packers are scheduled to face during the 2020 regular season.
GREEN BAY - The Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers had one of the great rivalries of the late 1990s, and the teams seem destined for that again.
The 2020 season will mark the third straight in which the teams will play and the second straight with friends Kyle Shanahan and Matt LaFleur coaching against each other.
Shanahan, who signed a long-term extension in the offseason, has brought the 49ers back to relevance behind a power running game and efficient catch-and-run passing attack. In 2019 they converted on 45% of their thirddown attempts and went 7-for-12 on fourth down while having a plus-4 advantage in the turnover margin.
Three running backs rushed for more than 500 yards while tight end George Kittle nearly doubled the production of the next-best pass catcher with 85 receptions for 1,053 yards.
Under the direction of defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, the 49ers had 48 sacks, came up with 12 interceptions and finished as the No. 2-ranked group in football. They were also No. 2 in thirddown percentage (33.3%).
To play complementary football to this degree, it’s no surprise the 49ers went 13-3 in the regular season and then beat the Minnesota Vikings and Packers by a combined score of 64-30 in the NFC playoffs before meeting their match in Super Bowl LIV. There, the 49ers held a 20-10 lead over the Kansas City Chiefs going into the fourth quarter before the Chiefs rallied to win 31-20.
Here are three things to know about the 49ers:
Jimmy G’s next step
Believe it or not, 2019 was the first full season quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo played as a starter in the NFL. Now entering his seventh season, Garoppolo and the 49ers find themselves at an interesting point. He played well through the regular season, posting a 102.0 quarterback rating after completing 69% of his passes for 3,978 yards and 27 touchdowns. But in the playoffs it looked like he was just a spectator, going 17-for-27 for 208 yards against the Vikings and Packers. When pressed to throw more in the Super Bowl, Garoppolo was 20-for-31 for 219 yards for a rating of 69.2 while throwing two interceptions and one touchdown pass. He also overthrew a wide-open Emmanuel Sanders with under two minutes left in the game. Garoppolo is under contract for two more seasons, though there is no more guaranteed money on the books for 2021 and 2022 — so it may be a make-or-break campaign for Garoppolo in terms of his ability to take the next step.
Can the run game keep going?
The 49ers’ offense used a threeheaded rushing attack in 2019 behind Raheem Mostert (772 yards, 8 TDs), Matt Breida (623 yards, TDs) and Tevin Coleman (544 yards, 6 TDs). But they traded Breida to Miami this offseason. Mostert and Coleman remain and it seems like Jeff Wilson (105 rushing yards) will be in line to get more carries. But Mostert — who ran for 220 yards against the Packers in the NFC championship game — has never started a game in his five-year career and is now 28 years old. Coleman is 27 and has always been a complementary back in his five seasons. The 49ers traded for Trent Williams to replace the retired Joe Staley at left tackle, but Williams hasn’t played since 2018 and will be 32 when the season starts.
A defense on the rise
When a group finishes No. 2 in the league in total defense and No. 8 in scoring — along with finishing first against the pass — it’s hard to assume there is anywhere else to go but down. Especially when you consider the fact the 49ers traded away Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, who had 28.5 sacks in four years. But the 49ers drafted South Carolina’s Javon Kinlaw to replace him and extended Arik Armstead (10 sacks) — meaning they will have an entire starting front seven under the age of 27 when the season starts. And that doesn’t include Dee Ford (29), who battled injuries throughout 2019 but still had 6.5 sacks in 11 games in his first season in San Francisco.
Packers schedule glimpse
Nov. 5 at 49ers, 7:20 p.m., NFL Network/Fox.
Week before: vs. Minnesota, Nov. 1. Week after: vs. Jacksonville, Nov. 15. On the horizon: at Indianapolis, Nov. 22.
San Francisco 49ers
Coach: Kyle Shanahan (23-25 overall, fourth season with the 49ers).
2019 record: 13-3, 1st in NFC West. Scoring offense: 29.9 (2nd in NFL). Total offense: 381.1 (4th).
Scoring defense: 19.4 (8th).
Total defense: 281.8 (2nd).
Series: Packers lead, 36-32-1.
Last meeting: It is a game the Packers would like to forget in many ways — but hope lessons were learned — as the 49ers pounded them 37-20 in the NFC championship game on Jan. 19. Garoppolo had to pass only eight times, and he completed six for 77 yards as the 49ers ran for 285 yards and averaged 6.8 yards per rush.
The Packers fell behind 27-0 at halftime and were never in the game. It was actually the second time the 49ers blew out the Packers in 2019, as they won 37-8 earlier at Levi’s Stadium as Aaron Rodgers was held to just 104 yards passing and 3.2 yards per attempt. In that game, Garoppolo went 14-for-20 for 253 yards and two scores.