Review~ that was the bounce-back performance everyone expected to see. It also took a total of 3 halves of football for the starters to look like they cared. While not every team played a preseason, the Packers definitely looked like one that could’ve benefitted from playing some. Green Bay had great balance, running a total of 61 plays with 31 of them rushing the ball and 30 drop backs. While the defense is still a concern (Detroit out-gained the Packers) the 2nd half showed the true bend-but-don’t-break D coming up with a shutout of the Lions.
Hardly a feel-good performance for the fans, but this should be a true litmus test for the Packers…San Francisco. The 49ers are about as complete a football team as there is in the NFL.
Preview~ San Francisco is one of the most-balanced teams in the NFL. They have been since the arrival of Kyle Shanahan. His offense stems from everything running the football. There are a lot of similarities to be pulled from LaFleur’s offense that came from Shanahan’s. While the season is still young, we’re beginning to see teams’ true moldings…San Fran has had an awful bout with the injury bug when it comes to the Running Back position, yet still rank 9th in rush offense (124.0 yards/game). That’s a testament to their commitment to the run game.
The other huge impact this game might see is the absence of #74 LT Elgton Jenkins. That means the Packers’ best 2 OL (Bakhtiari & Jenkins) will be missing when taking on, arguably, the best defensive front in football. That spells a recipe for disaster. These are far two different teams than the ones that matched up last season, and #97 DE Nick Bosa on San Fran was missing in action last year and will likely be an issue on Sunday night. Until there’s more season played, it makes sense to keep these synopses short and sweet until there’s more meat to chew.
Packers 27
49ers 34
Season: 1-1
Overall: 70-37
sportsjudgejury 