The Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers are meeting in their tenth postseason game when they square off tonight at Levi’s Stadium. The Packers have a slight edge against the point spread in their nine prior playoff battles, with four wins, three losses and a pair of pushes. The 49ers have the advantage straight up, five wins against four losses.
The Packers dominated postseason contests against the 49ers early in this spirited rivalry, winning their first three postseason meetings beginning in 1995. That year, the Packers also invaded the Bay Area as a ten point underdog and slammed the home team, 27-20. There is a very sound reason why the Packers won that game and postseason contests in 1996 and 1997, Mike Holmgren was their head coach.
Holmgren had served as offensive coordinator in San Francisco before being selected by Packers General Manager Ron Wolf to coach the Packers in 1992. Green Bay was a decided underdog when they visited Candlestick Park during the 1995 playoffs to meet the reigning Super Bowl Champion 49ers, but they had the advantage of being coached by a man with firsthand knowledge of the 49ers strengths and weaknesses.
When a coach from one team takes over another and meets their old squad they have a decided advantage with knowledge of their opponent while the team they left has no special relationship with the team their former coach joined. This edge was never more on display than in Super Bowl XXXVII, a game in which the Tampa Bay Buccaneers blew out the Oakland Raiders, 48-21, with the advantage of being coached by Jon Gruden, who had served as the Raiders head coach the prior four seasons.
Holmgren, beat the 49ers with his Packers in the postseason three times before San Francisco got a playoff win when Terrell Owens caught a pass from Steve Young in the waning moments to provide the home team a 30-27 win during the 1998 Wild Card Weekend. That turned out to be the final game Holmgren worked the Packers sideline, leaving that team for a like position with the Seattle Seahawks in 1999.
The Packers could have plenty of motivation tonight at Levi’s Stadium given the success the 49ers have had against them in recent playoff action. When these two teams tangled two years ago in a Divisional Round contest the underdog 49ers downed the Packers at Lambeau Field in severe winter weather conditions.
The 49ers also downed the Packers on their way to Super Bowl LIV, which resulted in a narrow loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The last time the Packers beat the 49ers in the postseason was in a 2001 Wild Card matchup.
Is the motivation the Packers have tonight enough to overcome the 49ers double-digit favorite role?
I think not.
Nothing the 49ers have done this season has tainted their clear path to Super Bowl LVIII. They are the best team in football and their season ending loss to the Los Angeles Rams was a perfect prelude to a spirited effort in their opening postseason game.
It also works to the advantage of the 49ers that the Packers played so well last Saturday in their romp over the Dallas Cowboys. If the Packers were coming to meet San Francisco as a typical double-digit underdog that no one gave a chance, they could sneak up on their heavily favored opponent. But they are not visiting San Francisco with no one seeing the possibility of a Packers win … which is exactly why they don’t have a chance.
Qoxhi Picks: San Francisco 49ers (-10) over Green Bay Packers