What happened last week
We've seen many teams in past tearing it up in the regular season and then completely flunk the test in the playoffs. I was afraid that San Francisco 49ers could be one of those teams, considering how young this team is, but they had no problems whatsoever adjusting to the "playoff football". Vikings are a very good team but stood no chance against these Niners, who once again relied heavily on their rushing attack and their defense. They ran for 186 yards, while the defense allowed measly 10 points, en route to 27-10 win.
On the other side, Green Bay hosted the Seattle Seahawks at Lambeau Field. Packers were considered a team with a lot of weaknesses, even though their record wouldn't really give that away. Especially their run defense was a big question mark going into this game. But other than containing Russell Wilson inside the pocket, they did a very good job stopping the normal running plays. Marshawn Lynch had only 26 yards on 12 carries. But despite the solid run defense, they were still not able to close out this game properly and were forced to fend off a late comeback attempt by the Seahawks.
Old grudge
This time around, they are having a much tougher job. Seattle's offensive line was a mess and their situation at running back as well. Seahawks were forced to drag some guys out of retirement after Carson, Penny and Prosise went down just before the playoffs. San Francisco has one of the best rushing offenses in the league. Kyle Shanahan is very creative with it and I believe that they will run all over this Packers defense.
But then again, you'd be a fool to count out Aaron Rodgers. This guy can always take put the team on his back and lead it to the promised land. And he is always extra motivated against San Francisco 49ers, who were picking first when he was coming out of college, but they went with Alex Smith. Btw, Rodgers is from California and was a 49ers fan when he was a kid. Pass protection will be the key. If Bakhtiari and his guys upfront can buy Rodgers enough time to scan the field and found an open receiver, anything can happen.
Niners vs Packers best bet
This could potentially be a very interesting game and the good news is that neither team has any serious injury problems. Both Kittle and Alexander are ready to go after missing some practice time this week. While punter JK Scott will also suit up for the Packers, after being ill last couple of days. Looking at the traditional markets, I'm definitely leaning towards the Niners covering and the over. I simply don't know how Green Bay could stop this rushing attack. San Francisco should be able to move the ball at will, get into the lead and force Aaron Rodgers into some pass-heavy, up-tempo situations.
That being said, when you throw the ball that frequently, you are getting vulnerable to some interceptions. Especially against mostly zone defense and if most of your wide receivers other then Davante Adams are struggling to get open. That is why I like the bet on Rodgers to throw an interception in this game at these current odds. Tevin Coleman's rushing yards line is suspiciously low, considering he carried the ball 22 times last week for 104 yards. I believe it means he'll take a back seat to Raheem Mostert in this one, or split the workload with him and Matt Breida at best.
