The Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers will meet for the second time in the Divisional Round of the NFC playoffs in three years, but this matchup has taken on a far different look than the last matchup.
The 49ers were the dominant team in the conference this season, earning the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage behind Brock Purdy and a high-flying offense.
This year's Packers, like the Niners two seasons ago, sneaked into the playoff field in Week 18 and scored a road upset over the Dallas Cowboys last week to reach this stage. But with Jordan Love at the helm, Green Bay's offense has leveled up down the stretch and poses a stiff challenge in Saturday night's showdown in Santa Clara.
Neither Purdy nor Love were starting for their respective teams two years ago (Purdy was finishing his college career at Iowa State, while Love backed up Aaron Rodgers), but each has played at an exceptional level down the stretch this season.
In fact, since Week 11 (including playoffs), Love actually has surpassed Purdy's production in completion percentage (70.7% to 70.1%) and TD-to-INT ratio (21-1 to 16-6), with Purdy edging Love in yards per game (278.7 to 269.1).
The incredible rise of Love -- and the Packers -- since the team's 2-5 start has changed his career arc. Purdy also has quieted doubters, even with some rough patches, since taking over down the stretch in the 2022 season and coming back from offseason elbow surgery.
The Packers and 49ers have met nine times in the postseason, all of them since the 1995 season, with San Francisco winning five – including the past four playoff meetings. Kyle Shanahan is 2-0 in the playoffs against Matt LaFleur's Packers.
This will be the first-ever game in NFL playoff history between No. 1 and
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