The San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers postseason series record is tied at 4-4, leaving Saturday's Divisional Round victor to earn the better half of the series.
The Faithful know this well; the last time these two teams met in the playoffs was in the 2019 NFC Championship game held at Levi's® Stadium where the 49ers celebrated their 37-20 win en route to Miami, Florida for Super Bowl LIV.
Leading the team to victory two years ago was running back Raheem Mostert, who became the first player in NFL history to rush for at least 200 yards and four touchdowns in a playoff game.
Fast forward to the 2021 season, rookie running back Elijah Mitchell has become a breakout star, rushing for the second-most yards by a rookie in franchise history, with 963 yards. In last week's game against the Dallas Cowboys, Mitchell's 96 rushing yards were the most in the NFL on Super Wild Card Weekend.
"Two years ago, it's a lot of different players," quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said. "We'd love to run the ball like we did two years ago. That would be awesome, but it's going to be hard for us and we know it."
So far, San Francisco has notched three-straight playoff wins against Green Bay. The 49ers started their win streak at Candlestick Park, defeating the Packers in the Divisional Round of the 2012 season where Colin Kaepernick finished the contest with a playoff-record 181 rushing yards for a quarterback. After winning the Conference Championship 28-24 against the Atlanta Falcons, the 49ers went on to play in Super Bowl XLVII.
In 2013, the 49ers were set to face the Packers in the postseason once again. The Wild Card game came down to a nail-biting ending, with kicker Phil Dawson sealing the walk-off win with a 33-yard field goal.
This year, the 49ers won't be on home turf. Rather, they will be traveling to the frozen tundra to take on their familiar foe at Lambeau Field in a game forecasted to have a wind chill of zero and possible snow.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan believes his team has greatly improved from their previous regular season matchup that ended in a loss of just two points.
"It's just nice to see when a team's executing better," Shanahan said. "When you feel like guys are practicing, playing better together as a unit. I think we're in a better spot now than we were at that time."
Preparation is key for the 49ers on their shortened week ahead of Saturday's Divisional Round. San Francisco resumed practices a day earlier than usual and assessed injuries to players such as Garoppolo, Fred Warner, Ambry Thomas and Nick Bosa.
"To go (to Lambeau Field) in the playoffs with the caliber team that they have, with the quarterback that they have, it is going to be a real special game," Shanahan said. "It's going to be a huge challenge and it's going to be something that I, myself, and everyone involved with us, will remember for our lives."
