49ers should be happy to face Packers in divisional round of NFL playoffs

Reason No. 2: 49ers strengths from 2019 are strengths again

Let’s go back to that 2020 NFC Championship game versus the Packers.

Aaron Rodgers had a decent game, at least by the final stat line, passing for 326 yards with two touchdowns against two interceptions, albeit in garbage time after San Francisco got out to a 27-0 lead.

It’s that lead, though, that stresses why the 49ers should be OK with matching up against Green Bay this time around.

The Niners rode running back Raheem Mostert’s 220-yard, four-touchdown performance like nothing else. And while Mostert was lost to a season-ending knee injury way back in Week 1, rookie runner Elijah Mitchell has now taken the helm.

As well as wide receiver offensive weapon Deebo Samuel, who netted 110 all-purpose yards in the win over the Cowboys.

All this makes for an unfavorable matchup for the Packers, which is what ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky noted below:

"If you had to sit down and write a script of how to beat the Green Bay Packers right now, every detail that would be on that list is who the San Francisco 49ers are. …They can run the football. That’s the weakness of the Green Bay defense. They’ve got a front that can rush. They’ve got a disciplined coverage unit. They’ve got a really speedy, athletic linebacker unit, and are really good at the defensive tackle. And the last thing I’d say is this: It’s the teacher versus the mentor. It’s Kyle Shanahan versus Matt LaFleur, and Matt LaFleur knows a lot of what he knows because of learning under Kyle Shanahan."

The Packers allowed 4.7 rush yards per attempt during the regular season, third worst in the NFL and a stat that plays right into San Francisco’s top offensive strength.