Getty Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers warms up before the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Dignity Health Sports Park on November 03, 2019 in Carson, California.
Aaron Rodgers isn’t shying away from the reality that awaits the Green Bay Packers in California this week.
Two of the best teams in the NFC — currently projected No. 1 and 2 in playoff seeding — will look to improve their playoff resumes when the Packers (8-2) visit the San Francisco 49ers (9-1) for Sunday Night Football in Week 12, which tells Rodgers his team will need to come away with a win at Levi’s Stadium at least once before the year is done.
“This is an important one for us,” Rodgers told reporters Thursday. “The way I look at it, we’ve got to beat them once at their place at some point. It would be nice to do it now. They’re a good football team, though. They’ve had a great start to the season, very well coached on both sides of the ball. I think they’ve taken care of business at home the entire season, too, so it’s going to be a tough test.”
A number of ties between the two teams only add intrigue to the matchup, including the fact that Rodgers once expected to join the 49ers when he entered the league in 2005. The 49ers held the No. 1 overall pick in a draft year where Rodgers was among the top quarterback options after a strong career at Cal, but San Francisco instead opted to select Alex Smith.
There are also more immediate connections, such as Packers head coach Matt LaFleur having his younger brother, Mike, on the San Francisco sideline. LaFleur had tried hiring his brother as the Packers offensive coordinator earlier this year, but 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan — a good friend of LaFleur — blocked the hiring attempt.
Familiarity, though, can be a trap. And LaFleur, shining in his debut season as an NFL head coach, is determined not to let it distract from his team following their script.
“You don’t want to try to overanalyze,” LaFleur told reporters Friday, “but you’ve got to kind of trust your gut in terms of what you think they’re going to present to you and do what you think is best to attack them and what they’ve shown on tape.”
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Richard Sherman Says Rodgers ‘Will Get a Gold Jacket’
As one of the best cornerbacks in the league, Richard Sherman knows what caliber of passer will be challenging him and the rest of the 49ers defense Sunday night at their home stadium. Sherman might be a three-time All-Pro defender, but Rodgers is gifted at carving up whatever defense gets in his way.
“I think he has a really quick release,” Sherman said Thursday. “He can get the ball from anywhere, from any position, any body position. He could be leaning, he could be backfoot, he could be tripping, he could be on the ground almost and flick it 70 yards and put it on a dime, so he’s one of the more talented quarterbacks to ever play the game.”
Rodgers is currently the third-most favored option to win Most Valuable Player in 2019 after keeping stable a Packers offense that has gone through some growing pains at times this season. He has passed for 2,718 yards and 17 touchdowns with just two interceptions on the year, turning in his best performance of the year during Week 7 when he threw five touchdowns, rushed for another and finished with a perfect passer rating in a 42-24 win over the Oakland Raiders.
It’s not like he’s not throwing the ball down the field or being really cautious with it,” Sherman explained. “He makes some incredible throws. That’s what makes him great. That’s why he’ll get a (Hall of Fame) gold jacket at the end of this.”
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