Green Bay Packers vs. San Francisco 49ers 2019: Prediction, Odds, Preview For Sunday Night NFL Game

The No.1 seed in the NFC is on the line Sunday night in Week 12 of the 2019 NFL season. The San Francisco 49ers host the Green Bay Packers, pitting the teams with the two best records in the conference against one another.

San Francisco is favored by a field goal at home, according to the latest betting line at OddsShark. The total is 46.5.

The NFC’s top defense has the 49ers tied with the New England Patriots for the best record in the NFL. San Francisco ranks second among all teams in yards allowed, points allowed and opponents’ yards per play.

Aaron Rodgers is still among the league’s best quarterbacks. The veteran was in the MVP conversation before the Packers had their Week 11 bye. Rodgers has a 102.7 passer rating with 17 touchdown passes and two interceptions.

Green Bay might have its best defense in the last few years, catapulting the Packers to the top of the NFC North.

The Packers haven’t been dominant on either side of the ball the way the 49ers have been on defense. Green Bay doesn’t crack the top 10 in total offense or yards per play. After a terrific start to the season, the Packers are down to 28th in both total defense and opponents’ yards per play.

During a three-game winning streak to begin the year, Green Bay surrendered 11.7 points per game. Two of those victories came against bottom-six scoring offenses. The Packers have allowed an average of 24.3 points in the last seven games.

Jimmy Garoppolo has had an up-and-down season. The quarterback has 18 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions, throwing at least one pick in eight of San Francisco’s 10 games. Garoppolo has only faced two top-15 defenses. He threw for one touchdown, three interceptions and a passer rating below 82.0 in those games.

Garoppolo threw two bad interceptions in Week 12 against the Arizona Cardinals. He also threw a touchdown pass in the final minute that allowed the 49ers to pull out a comeback victory.

San Francisco’s defense can do most of the work Sunday night if Garoppolo can execute a few big throws when the 49ers need him to do so.

This isn’t going to be a game that gets Rodgers back in the MVP discussion. Green Bay has faced two above-average defenses on the road. The Packers were held to 21 total points, defeating the Chicago Bears 10-3 in the season opener and losing 26-11 to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 9.

Green Bay’s other loss came in Week 4 against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Packers couldn’t stop the run, allowing Jordan Howard and Miles Sanders to rush for 159 yards on 26 carries.

The Packers rank 27th in the NFL, allowing 4.8 yards per carry. The 49ers are second in rushing offense with 149.0 yards per game on the ground.

The 49ers’ defense might not be historic the way it appeared earlier this season, but the unit is better than the last few games would suggest.

Even though Arizona scored 26 points last week, Kyler Murray was limited to 150 passing yards. The Cardinals’ rushers besides Murray had 68 yards on 17 carries. When Seattle beat San Francisco 27-24 in Week 10, the 49ers’ defense gave up 17 points in regulation and made Russell Wilson look ordinary.

San Francisco is tied for the league-lead with 39 sacks. Green Bay has given up 10 sacks in the last three games.

Rodgers will be less than spectacular Sunday as the Packers blow their chance to earn home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

Prediction: San Francisco over Green Bay, 23-17