49ers schedule: 4 best non-NFC West games in 2021

No. 1: Week 3 — Packers @ 49ers

So much of the No. 1 best non-NFC West game on this list is contingent upon whether or not quarterback Aaron Rodgers is donning a Green Bay Packers uniform.

If Rodgers is traded soon, as speculation has suggested, this Week 3 Sunday Night Football matchup becomes something of a ho-hummer between the 49ers and a suddenly restructuring Packers squad sans its MVP signal-caller. But if Rodgers and the Packers figure things out, and there are plenty of reasons why that probably happens, the game becomes one of much bigger proportions.

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Yes, the Niners have handled their business against Green Bay in recent years, aside from that one-sided loss last year on Thursday Night Football when COVID-19 had more to do with San Francisco’s defeat. The regular-season matchup in 2019 and the NFC Championship game in January of 2020 were pretty clear indicators the 49ers proverbially “have the Packers’ number” when games count the most.

But that was 2019. The Packers are one of the teams favored to come away with the conference crown in 2021, thanks largely to Rodgers’ presence, while the Niners are widely viewed as good enough for the playoffs, not quite good enough for a trip to the Super Bowl.

All that said, Week 3 could determine a lot about how the NFL world is viewing how both San Francisco and Green Bay are lining up against each other in the NFC hierarchy.