This Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers face an old rival in a game that could determine their playoff fate. The 49ers travel to Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers in a rematch of last season’s divisional round contest. San Francisco enters at 5-5, currently tied for last place in the crowded NFC West division. Meanwhile, the Green Bay Packers are 7-3 on the season, in third place in the NFC North, and are looking to make another playoff push. A win on the road would boost the playoff chances for the San Francisco 49ers, but a loss could be catastrophic and nearly push them out of contention entirely.
The San Francisco 49ers Playoff Chances
Last week, the San Francisco 49ers were 5-4 and looked like they were going to rebound from a shaky start to the season. They led 17-13 over the Seattle Seahawks with the clock winding down. A win would have pushed them to 6-4, plus the win over a division opponent would help in the case of tiebreakers. However, a final Seahawks drive capped off with a Geno Smith touchdown run caused the 49ers optimism and playoff odds to plummet. Now, San Francisco is 5-5 heading into one of the toughest environments in the NFL against another playoff contender.
A loss against Green Bay would put the San Francisco 49ers at 5-6 and their schedule does not get any easier. The following week, they go on the road against the Buffalo Bills and round out the season against the Bears, Rams, Dolphins, Lions, and Cardinals. The 49ers playoff odds are already getting slimmer by the week the longer they hover around .500. Losing this week would not eliminate them outright, but it would make their hole even deeper to dig out of.
The San Francisco 49ers Struggles
The San Francisco 49ers have struggled to find consistent success this season and that can be attributed to multiple aspects. Firstly, the team has struggled to maintain health, with injuries plaguing their rosters most effective players. Christian McCaffrey just recently came back from an injury that caused him to miss the first half of the season. McCaffrey plays an integral role in the 49ers’ offense, not just on the ground in the run game, but in the passing game as well. McCaffrey’s abilities as a receiving back make the San Francisco offense far less predictable and the coverage needed to contain McCaffrey usually opens up receivers downfield and over the middle.
Another injury the San Francisco 49ers had to stomach was Brandon Aiyuk. Despite having a disappointing start to the season, Aiyuk was the 49ers top receiver. Now, he is out for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL suffered in week seven. On top of that, other key players like George Kittle and Nick Bosa have been dealing with lingering injuries throughout the season.
Another struggle has been closing games out. Last week, it was the game against Seattle, but throughout the season, the San Francisco 49ers have struggled to finish games and put teams away. They have lost games against the Rams and Cardinals where they have blown leads in the second half. San Francisco will need to tighten up down the stretch because they cannot afford to blow any more winnable games.
The San Francisco 49ers are currently seeded 10th in the NFC and tied for last in their division. Their playoff chances are already low at this point in the season, but a loss to the Green Bay Packers and a tough schedule down the stretch could make things insurmountable for them. With injuries and a failure to close games, the San Francisco 49ers find themselves in a tough situation where a loss would make a playoff berth highly unlikely. So, they should treat this game against the Packers as a must win.
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