National Football League

Packers look for revenge in Bay Area

Updated Jul. 14, 2021 4:19 p.m. ET

By Kevin Cooney

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When Aaron Rodgers walked off the field at Levi’s Stadium last January after another loss in the NFC Championship, it felt like the difference between the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers was a wide gap.

Eleven months later, the two teams are still separated – but in an almost completely different way than anyone could have anticipated.

It’s Rodgers and the Packers (5-2) that still carry Super Bowl dreams as they travel to Santa Clara to face the injury-riddled 49ers (4-4) for this week’s edition of Thursday Night Football (8:20 p.m., FOX).

Green Bay will look to bounce back from a stunning 28-22 loss to the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday at Lambeau Field. Meanwhile, the 49ers lost both quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and tight end George Kittle to injuries during a 37-27 loss at Seattle, and will also be without several other players due to COVID-19 protocols.

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THE LINES

The Packers are six-point road favorites Thursday, according to the latest at FOXBet.com. On the money line, the Packers are -250 (a $250 bet would win $100) while the 49ers are +210 (a $100 bet would win $210.) The over-under total on the game is 49½ on FOXBet.com.

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THE HISTORY

Green Bay leads the series 36-32-1 after 69 meetings. However, San Francisco won both games last season between the two teams – both in convincing fashion. The 49ers rolled over the Packers 37-8 in the regular season, then followed that up with a 37-20 victory in the NFC title game that sent the 49ers to Super Bowl LIV.

Since Rodgers became the Packers starting quarterback in 2009, he is 4-3 against the 49ers in seven starts with 14 TD passes, two interceptions and a 101.5 quarterback rating.

THE STORYLINES

The Packers offense looked a tick off in Sunday’s loss to the Vikings, which was played on a windy, cold afternoon at Lambeau. The bigger problem for Green Bay, however, was the lack of answers for Minnesota running back Dalvin Cook, who scored four times (three rushing, one receiving) and rushed for 163 yards.

The good news for the Packers is there will likely be no Tevin Coleman for San Francisco, due to Coleman’s knee injury. That’s in addition to Raheem Mostert, who burned the Packers last year in the NFC Championship, but is currently on injured reserve.

Meanwhile, the 49ers are likely going to start Nick Mullins in place of Garoppolo, who is expected to be out at least six weeks with a high ankle sprain. Mullins will be without Deebo Samuel and Kittle – arguably the Niners' two best pass catchers – because of foot fractures.

San Francisco’s defense will need to step up to give the offense a ton of short fields. It might be a lot to ask against Rodgers, who is looking for revenge as he returns home to Northern California. Through seven games, the Packers QB already has thrown 20 TD passes with just two picks, good for a rating of 113.0.

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