Green Bay Packers vs. San Francisco 49ers 2020: Prediction, Line, Preview For NFC Championship Game

The San Francisco 49ers were the NFC’s best team throughout the entirety of the regular season, winning their first eight games on the way to earning a No.1 seed in the 2020 NFL playoffs. After a dominant victory over the Minnesota Vikings in the divisional round, the NFC West champs should punch their ticket to Super Bowl LIV on Championship Sunday.

The Green Bay Packers will visit Levi’s Stadium for a meeting with the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. Green Bay defeated the Seattle Seahawks 28-23 at Lambeau Field in the divisional playoffs.

Even though both teams went 13-3 in 2019, San Francisco is viewed as the heavy favorite.

The betting line in Sunday night’s game is seven points, according to OddsShark. The over/under is 45.

San Francisco had the more dominant second-round victory. The 49ers also had a much more dominant regular season.

The 49ers finished ahead of the Packers in total offense (San Francisco ranked fourth, Green Bay ranked 18th), total defense (San Francisco ranked second, Green Bay ranked 18th), points per game (San Francisco ranked second, Green Bay ranked 15th) and points allowed per game (San Francisco ranked eighth, Green Bay ranked ninth).

Perhaps most importantly, Green Bay never stood a chance when the two teams faced off fewer than two months ago.

A week 12 matchup in the Bay Area ultimately determined the top of the NFC playoff standings. San Francisco won the tiebreaker because they blasted Green Bay 37-8 on Nov. 24 in primetime.

Aaron Rodgers was limited to just 104 passing yards on 33 attempts, suffering five sacks. The Packers had 198 yards of total offense compared to the 49ers’ 339 yards. Jimmy Garoppolo went 14-20 for 253 yards, two touchdowns and a 145.8 passer rating. San Francisco running backs averaged 5.8 yards per carry.

Considering the opponent, it was arguably the best performance by the 49ers’ defense in the regular season. The unit that wasn’t nearly as good in the second half of the year showed what it was capable of that night against Green Bay.

Minnesota’s offense was stymied in the divisional playoffs. Dalvin Cook had just 18 rushing yards on nine carries. Kirk Cousins was sacked six times, totaling 172 passing yards on 29 attempts.

After suffering key injuries in the final two months of the season, San Francisco’s defense is finally healthy. With Dee Ford, Jaquiski Tartt and Kwon Alexander back on the field, the 49ers were back to looking like the NFC’s best unit. Nick Bosa was the best player on the field with six tackles and two sacks.

San Francisco gave up a league-low 169.2 passing yards per game and 5.9 yards per attempt. The 49ers went 8-0 against teams that are worse than 15th in yards per play. The Packers rank 17th with 5.4 yards per play.

Maybe Rodgers will make enough big throws to help Green Bay escape with a win. The future Hall of Famer was terrific against Seattle, posting a 113.7 passer rating and completing every pass attempt that traveled at least 10 yards in the air.

Garoppolo wasn’t asked to do much in his playoff debut. He went 11-19 for 131 yards, a touchdown and an interception that helped keep Minnesota in the game. The quarterback has failed to post an average passer rating in eight of his 17 starts.

Garoppolo has led San Francisco on multiple game-winning drives against good teams. No quarterback has had sustained success against this 49ers’ defense when all of their key players are healthy.

San Francisco’s resume is unmatched. The 49ers have wins over four NFC playoff teams. The Los Angeles Rams, who finished a game out of the postseason, were beaten by San Francisco twice. The 49ers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were in contention until the season finale.

The 49ers have won every type of game. San Francisco held the likes of Green Bay, Minnesota and Los Angeles to 10 points or fewer. They beat the New Orleans Saints 48-46.

Green Bay took care of business against Seattle, surviving a late comeback attempt from Russell Wilson. It was the first time they’ve beaten a starting quarterback that won more than 10 games this season.

Wilson did his best to keep the Seahawks’ hopes alive, going 21-31 for 277 yards, one touchdown and a 106.5 passer rating. He was sacked five times as Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith recorded two sacks each. Seattle running backs had 15 carries for 39 yards.

Marshawn Lynch led the Seahawks with 12 rushes because Seattle lost its top three running backs in the regular season. The 49ers have the NFC’s No.1 rushing attack.

The Packers’ pass rush could struggle against a 49ers’ offensive line that’s significantly better at pass protecting than the Seahawks. Green Bay padded its regular-season numbers against Mitchell Trubisky, Joe Flacco and a host of rookie signal callers. Carson Wentz, Derek Carr, Philip Rivers and other competent quarterbacks largely played well when facing Green Bay’s defense.

Nine of San Francisco’s 14 wins have come by at least two possessions. All three of Green Bay’s losses have come by at least a touchdown. The Packers were beaten twice on the road by double digits.

Look for the 49ers to get their second big win over the Packers in primetime.

Prediction: San Francisco over Green Bay, 24-14