GREEN BAY, Wis. — If there is any question why Sunday's Week 1 matchup between the Packers and 49ers is the game of the week (3:25 p.m. CT on FOX), consider just how good these two teams were last season.
With Green Bay finishing 15-1 and San Francisco 13-3, this is the first time since 1999 that two teams with so many combined wins from the previous season will begin the following season head to head.
This game also features the NFL's highest-scoring team from 2011 — with the Packers averaging 35 points per game — and the 49ers' stingy defense that allowed only 14.3 points per game, the second-best mark in the league.
But for all the greatness both teams displayed, neither was able to defeat the New York Giants in the playoffs and advance to the Super Bowl to represent the NFC. So this game will be an early indicator of where each team stands following disappointing ends to their 2011 seasons.
It's also another opportunity for Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the NFL's reigning Most Valuable Player, to exact revenge against the 49ers. Rodgers, who was born and raised in California, 175 miles from San Francisco, was passed on by the 49ers when they opted for quarterback Alex Smith at the top of the 2005 draft.
In Rodgers' two career starts against San Francisco, he's 2-0 while throwing for 642 yards with five touchdown passes and no interceptions. And Rodgers knows, in order to make it a trifecta, he'll need another great performance.
"This is the type of game, like the other two I've been in, where me playing well has been necessary for us to win," Rodgers said. "It's my role on this team to get us in good situations, to make plays that are there, and make the most of our opportunities. Because there's not going to be a ton of opportunities out there against these guys.
"You're going to have to be patient, realize they're going to make a lot of plays, but when the opportunities do come up, you have to make the proper throw."
Packers coach Mike McCarthy was the 49ers' offensive coordinator in 2005 when Smith was San Francisco's choice with the No. 1 overall pick over Rodgers, who then slid to No. 24. McCarthy coached Smith for one season before taking over in Green Bay and that seemed to set a trend within the 49ers organization. Because in Smith's first seven years in the NFL, he had a new offensive coordinator every season.
Now, finally, Smith is going into a season with the same offensive coordinator from the year prior.
"I think any quarterback that has to shift every year, it's definitely not to his advantage," McCarthy said. "It's definitely challenging. I've been blessed to coach in one offensive system since 1989. I haven't had to go down that road. I think he went through it like five times in five years."
Last season was by far the best in Smith's first seven NFL seasons. He started all 16 games while throwing for a career-best 3,144 yards with 17 touchdown passes and only five interceptions.
"He's our unquestioned leader, and we have tremendous confidence in Alex because of the way he works, the way he prepares," 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said this week in a teleconference.
This season, Smith will have more offensive weapons to work with. San Francisco added seven-time Pro-Bowl receiver Randy Moss, who at age 35 is making an NFL comeback after being without a team in 2011. The 49ers also used their top two draft picks on offensive players, selecting wide receiver A.J. Jenkins in the first round and running back LaMichael James in the second round.
"The more problems you can give a defense, the more you can get them to think about, the better," Smith said. "So much of this game comes down to matchups. We have a lot of different guys to create a lot of different matchups. It's a good problem to have. It's something we'll continue to mold, and it will probably evolve as the season goes on."
It remains to be seen how much Moss has left as he begins his 14th NFL season, but he's had a lot of memorable moments at Lambeau Field, especially early in his career when he was with the Minnesota Vikings.
"It's still Randy Moss out there," Smith said. "When you get him one-on-one, it's a favorable matchup right there. He has a special tool set."
Though the 49ers were not the type of team that looked to stretch the field often last season, this will be the first opportunity for the Packers defense to show whether it has improved from a poor 2011 season. Not only did Green Bay give up more passing yards than any team in NFL history, but the Packers also had 18 fewer sacks than they did in 2010 when they won the Super Bowl.
"Defensively I'm real excited about this group," nose tackle B.J. Raji said. "I think we have the right guys in the right spots that we need to contribute."
Green Bay used its first six draft picks on defensive players and traded up three times to get the player it wanted. In the first round, the Packers selected Nick Perry, who they have converted into an outside linebacker in defensive coordinator Dom Capers' 3-4 scheme. Perry has been the starter since Day 1 of training camp, with the team hoping that his presence can help free up fellow outside linebacker Clay Matthews.
Though many within the Packers organization believe Matthews had a better season in 2011 with six sacks than he did in 2010 with 13.5 sacks, getting him to the quarterback more often this season could fix several of the issues that hurt Green Bay's defense last year.
With the Packers and 49ers both preseason favorites to advance to the Super Bowl, this is about as challenging of a game as either team could have asked for in Week 1.
"It will be a great environment," McCarthy said. "An excellent team with San Francisco coming in here, so we are looking forward to it."
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