49ers vs. Packers: Niners face injured Rodgers on Monday Night Football

Week 6 by the numbers

2017 was a lost year for the Green Bay Packers, who finished the season with a losing record after eight consecutive trips to the playoffs. Green Bay’s season fell apart when they lost Rodgers to a collarbone injury in Week 6; after their quarterback’s injury, the 4-1 Packers won just three games over the remainder of the 2017 season.

Fan expectations rose back to normal levels as Green Bay began the 2018 season with their franchise quarterback healthy and ready for another playoff run. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for the Packers’ season to appear to derail once again, as Rodgers was carted off the field with a knee injury in the first half of Week 1:

Whatever pep talk or heavy medication the Packers’ training staff gave Rodgers at halftime worked, as the QB returned to action in the fourth quarter with the Packers down by 17. Three touchdown passes later, Rodgers limped off the field with a 24-23 victory over a stunned Chicago Bears squad:

So far, their fourth-quarter comeback in Week 1 has been the highlight of the Packers’ 2018 season. After fighting the Minnesota Vikings to a tie in Week 2, Green Bay was defeated handily by the Washington Redskins in Week 3. And following an easy home victory over the Buffalo Bills, the Packers fell to the Detroit Lions by two scores after kicker Mason Crosby missed four field goals and an extra point last week.

As Rodgers continues to deal with his ongoing knee injury, the team has relied more heavily on its running game in key situations instead of the Packers’ less-efficient passing attack, which has only been a mid-level unit over the first five games of 2018.

Green Bay’s three-headed rushing attack of running backs Jamaal Williams, Aaron Jones and Ty Montgomery currently rank seventh in the NFL in Football Outsiders’ DVOA. So far this season, the Packers have averaged 4.6 yards per rush, which ranks sixth in the league, while the team’s 7.5 yards per pass attempt ranks 16th.

Overall, the Packers’ defense has played marginally better than the average NFL defense, as their pass defense ranks in the top-half of the league, while their run defense is below average after allowing 105 rushing yards a game and five total scores on the ground.

When the season began, the Packers believed they were among the league’s elite, but at a record of 2-2-1, they’re played like an average NFL team. If Green Bay expects to play deep into January, Monday night’s matchup with the San Francisco 49ers is a must-win game. And the outcome of the game will likely fall on the shoulders — and knees — of the teams’ quarterbacks: