As the top seed in the NFC, there was no reason to view the 49ers as anything other than the favorite to glide through the playoffs and represent the conference in Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.
Moving along these trails rarely are cakewalks, though, and there was certainly sentiment that the No. 2 seed Cowboys could make a run.
And there was certainly strong sentiment that the Cowboys, undefeated at home this season, had enough firepower to get past the No. 7 seed Packers in the wild-card round.
As we know by now, that did not happen.
“I didn’t know who was going to win,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “So it didn’t surprise me what happened. Dallas is a good team so just the way it started out was a little surprising. Once you watch the tape and you really get into Green Bay and you really think of their numbers and you really watch their players and how they’re doing it, it doesn’t surprise me at all now.”
Upsets happen, but the way the Packers rolled to leads of 27-0 in the first half and 48-16 early in the fourth quarter of a 48-32 victory on the road at AT&T Stadium was astonishing to see.
Once the Cowboys were unceremoniously bounced from the postseason, the 49ers while sitting back and watching last week’s action strengthened their hold on their team-to-beat status in the NFC.
That respite ends Saturday night, when the 49ers embark on what they expect will be an extended stay in the postseason with an NFC divisional playoff matchup with the Packers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
There is evidence to suggest the Niners (12-5) are going to be a tough out.
They scored an NFL-high 491 points this season, the second-most points in a season in franchise history.
Their 61 touchdowns and 6,773 total yards also represent the second-most in franchise history.
Their 22 interceptions on defense was tied for the league lead and their 17.5-points a game allowed on defense was third in the league, behind only the Ravens and Chiefs.
This is a well-balanced team and operation.
The 49ers know their way around eliminating the Packers at this time of year.
Four times, they knocked Aaron Rodgers from the playoffs, including twice in the previous four years.
Rodgers is now with the Jets and his replacement in Green Bay, Jordan Love, is on a Rodgers-type roll for the Packers (10-8).
In the past nine games, Love has thrown 21 touchdown passes and one interception.
He is coming off a phenomenal playoff debut, completing 16 of 21 passes for 272 yards and three touchdowns in the stunning rout in Dallas.
“They have a lot of the same guys from the past, really good teams they have had and a quarterback who does exactly what he’s coached to do,” Niners pass rusher extraordinaire Nick Bosa said. “Aaron Rodgers is a Hall of Famer and unbelievable, but he kind of went outside of the realm of coaching and sometimes it’s good when you have a guy who does what he’s coached to do.”
Love, 25, is only one year older than his counterpart with the 49ers, Brock Purdy, 24, but their pathways to starting quarterback roles could not be more different.
The Packers took Love late in the first round (26th overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft, even though they had Rodgers playing at a high level.
Love sat on the bench behind Rodgers for three seasons before getting his chance.
Purdy was an afterthought, selected with the last pick (262nd) of the 2022 draft, designated as Mr. Irrelevant, and when injuries and poor performance from Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo left the Niners with no other option, Purdy got the call last season and, surrounded by offensive playmakers around him, he helped guide his team into the NFC Championship Game.
He injured his right elbow in that game and the 49ers were beaten by the Eagles 31-7.
The 49ers have fallen one game short of the Super Bowl in back-to-back years, as they lost to the Rams 20-17 in the 2021 NFC title game.
Before they can earn a trip into a third straight NFC Championship Game, the Niners have to first get past the Packers.
“We’re excited,” All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams said. “This is what you wait all year for, especially after the way last year ended. The regular season is fun and it has its own challenges. But when you get that close, like we did last year, you just want to fast forward to the regular season and get back to this tournament.”
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