5 Packers weaknesses 49ers can attack in NFC Championship game

No. 1: Win The Running Game Again

In the battle between running backs, the Vikings’ Dalvin Cook and the 49ers’ Tevin Coleman, Coleman got the better of the two by far. All he did was rush for 105 yards and two touchdowns, while Cook was held to a mere 26 all-purpose yards.

San Francisco 49ers

Now, Coleman and San Francisco’s crop of runners will have to outdo Aaron Jones.

Stopping Jones is a primary goal for defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, of course. But there’s another obvious reason why the 49ers would have interest in establishing the run early, and sticking to it throughout the course of four quarters: It keeps Aaron Rodgers off the field.

And if the Niners get out to that lead, there are plenty of reasons to believe the Packers can’t play catchup as well this season as they may have been able to in previous seasons.

From a statistical standpoint, it shouldn’t be impossible, either.

The Niners have had some issues defending against the run, averaging 4.5 yards against per carry, which ranked 23rd in the regular season. But the Packers were even worse, allowing an average of 4.7 yards per attempt in 2019.

And with the 49ers wary of those two Green Bay pass-rushers, Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith, keeping them honest with a strong run game plays right into Kyle Shanahan’s ability to win this contest.

San Francisco had the blueprint to doing this against Minnesota in the divisional round.

All that’s needed is a duplicate effort versus Green Bay to send the 49ers to Super Bowl LIV.