Green Bay ready to leave it all on the field vs. San Fran

GREEN BAY — For the second time this season, the Green Bay Packers will travel to Santa, Clara, Calif. to take on the San Francisco 49ers. The Pack is hoping for a better showing this time around.

Back on Nov. 24, the teams met in a highly-anticipated matchup, but the 49ers dominated from the outset on their way to a 37-8 victory.

It was an abysmal showing by the Packers’ offense, which kept the team’s defense on the field for over 35 minutes.

Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers was sacked on the team’s first possession, fumbling in the process. San Francisco took over at the Packers’ 2-yard line and it was all downhill for the Pack after that.

The green and gold traveled back to Green Bay with plenty of questions to answer.

While Green Bay hasn’t exactly played great football since then, it enters Sunday’s NFC Championship Game on a six-game winning streak, with the last loss coming from the 49ers.

What’s changed since that first game against San Fran? Communication was a common response from the team.

“Just little errors here and there. Communication errors,” said Green Bay running back Aaron Jones on why the offense couldn’t get things rolling in the first matchup. “Things that we did to ourselves, not that they did to us — things we feel like we could correct.”

While the Packers’ defense only allowed 339 total yards in the November meeting, those yards only came on 45 plays (a 7.5-yard average per play).

“I think the biggest takeaway from that (game) was just our communication all across the board. Certain groups thought they were doing the right thing, and other groups thought they were doing the right thing and it wasn’t meshing together,” said Packers linebacker Blake Martinez. “I think from that game, it helped us kind of propel ourselves to what we were able to do the rest of the season and I think we’re excited to go out there and show that product this time.”

During the team’s winning streak, the Packers’ defense kept the opponent under 21 points in five of those games, with last week’s win over the Seattle Seahawks (23 points allowed) being the highest point total.

The San Francisco pass rush unit is getting most of the headlines, and rightfully so with how talented they are and with how well they’ve played this season. But Sunday’s game could be determined by how often the Packers’ defense can get after San Fran QB Jimmy Garoppolo.

On the Packers’ streak, the team has been able to get pretty consistent pressure on the opposing quarterback, and it was no different last week against the Seahawks.

Green Bay sacked Russell Wilson five times, but could have racked up several more sacks if not for Wilson’s mobility. Garoppolo doesn’t possess that kind of athleticism and has proven to be turnover-prone when under constant duress.

While the defense looks to pressure Garoppolo and the 49ers’ offense, the Packers’ offensive line will need to find a way to at least slow San Fran’s pass rush.

“They have the length and they’re able to use it. You see some guys that are tall and athletic and don’t necessarily use it, but these guys do, especially (on the) interior,” said Packers center Corey Linsley on the 49ers’ defensive line. “They’re a great defensive front and they deserve the credit they’ve been given, so it’s going to be a huge challenge for us.”

Rodgers was sacked five times in the first meeting and was constantly under pressure, leading to a 20-for-33 passing day. Rodgers had just 104 passing yards and finished with a quarterback rating of 8.5.

The threat the San Fran d-line poses also affects the Packers’ wide receiving corps.

“It puts a little bit of added pressure on me as far as making sure I’m getting open, finding a hole or beating my guy man-to-man, whatever it is,” said Green Bay receiver Davante Adams. “When they only send four, it allows more to be in coverage and it’s tougher to find those holes. So, I just try to put the onus on me to go out there and get open and give him (Rodgers) a nice place to go with the ball.

Despite what happened in the first matchup, having to play in Santa Clara and being a big underdog, Green Bay believes the pressure is on San Francisco.

“Oh, definitely,” said Jones on if he feels loose because nobody is expecting the team to win. “We’re the underdogs.”

“I mean, we feel like they’re probably a little confident, but we know what we need to do so we’re just going to be worried about ourselves.”

The Packers will lay it all on the line Sunday, hoping to extend their win streak to seven and reach the Super Bowl for the first time since the 2010-11 season.

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