There are several notable matchups to pay attention to in Week 1 of the NFL Season. But we have picked our Game of the Week, which will take place in Lambeau Field in the late afternoon wave of games. The top-two NFC favorites will face off against each other, when the Green Bay Packers host the San Francisco 49ers.
You can bet that there will be plenty of eyes glued to the television for this.
These two teams combined for 28 regular season victories in the 2011 NFL Season. But those victories didn’t turn into anything in the playoffs.
For Green Bay, it was a one-and-done postseason, while San Francisco lost at home in the NFC Championship game to the New York Giants. Both have some unfinished business to attend to in 2012.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers did win his first NFL Most Valuable Player award, and it was well deserved. But Rodgers will need to play well again this season if Green Bay is going to win their second Super bowl in three seasons.
49ers quarterback Alex Smith finally showed like he could be the No.1 draft pick, having his best season as a pro. Smith was taken No.1 in the same draft Rodgers fell all the way to No.24 before the Packers took him.
So you can bet Rodgers will make this a little personal, though he and Smith are friends off the field.
The winner of this game will probably set themselves apart from the rest of the NFC as the favorites to represent the conference in the Super Bowl.
And since this is a blog and not really an objective preview, let’s get a prediction in here.
Look for the Packers to come out firing early against this very tough 49ers defense. and while the Green Bay offense vs the SF defense will be the one everyone wants to see, it will be the other matchup that will decide this game.
Playing at home, the Packers defense has the edge over the 49ers offense.
The Score – Green Bay 27 SF 17