January
Green Bay Packers vs. San Francisco 49ers: Week 1 vs. Now
Kaepernick played very little in the first meeting between these teams. He will be a big focus of the Green Bay defense on Saturday
Some would simply look at this season’s week one matchup between the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers to start breaking down this upcoming Saturday’s divisional playoff game. But each of these teams has made a sizable change between Week 1 and now.
So what are the changes? The 49ers have a new starting quarterback in Colin Kaepernick and the Packers have found a more productive running game. Let’s examine each of these factors as it relates to this upcoming game.
Quarterback
This is the biggest change for San Francisco. In the week one matchup at Green Bay, 49ers quarterback Alex Smith was the starter and he was extremely efficient. He was 20 for 26 with two touchdowns and no interceptions. It helped that Frank Gore added over 100 yards rushing and with Smith not under any real pressure all day. The 49ers were able to beat the Packers for the first time since 1999 and the game wasn’t as close as the score indicated.
In a week 10 game against the St. Louis Rams, Smith suffered a concussion and had to leave the game. That would be his last start and action during the 2012 season. Smith was forced to miss the next week’s game when he was not cleared to return.
