Week 3 Sunday Night Football Preview: Packers vs. 49ers

Sunday Night Football features two teams with recent experience playing for the NFC championship when the Green Bay Packers take on the San Francisco 49ers. Both teams picked up a win last week and will look to add another in this matchup. But both teams did leave their last game with some questions after looking less than convincing in those outings.

Green Bay Packers

Last week, the Green Bay Packers picked up their first win of the season when they beat the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football. They rode a massive second half performance to get that win, holding the Lions scoreless over the final two quarters of the game. But the Packers were far from perfect in the win, as Green Bay trailed at halftime despite a big edge in talent over the Lions.

In the first half of the game against the Lions, the Packers allowed Lions quarterback Jared Goff to complete 10 of his 13 pass attempts. Two of those 10 completions went for touchdowns, with the Lions having a lot of success through the air in the first 30 minutes of the game. Against a 49ers team that will likely need to rely on their passing game, Green Bay will need to do a better job of defending the pass for both halves on Sunday night.

San Francisco 49ers

In a defensive battle, the San Francisco 49ers picked up their second win in as many attempts by beating the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2. The 49ers held the Eagles to just 11 points in that game, with Philadelphia scoring just one touchdown against the 2-0 Niners. This week, the 49ers face a stiffer challenge to their defense as they have to stop the duo of Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams.

While the defense of the 49ers was great last week, their offense was less impressive. San Francisco had just seven points heading into the fourth quarter of the game against the Eagles before they pulled away in the final period. And with Jimmy Garoppolo throwing for under 200 yards in the game, the 49ers are hoping for better offensive performance in their home opener.

Keys to the Game

For the Green Bay Packers, the biggest key to this game will be generating passing offense through players other than Davante Adams. Adams accounted for nearly half of the Packers’ receiving yardage last week, as Green Bay’s offense has looked unimpressive outside of Rodgers’ top target. With the Packers playing poorly in three of the four halves they’ve participated in this season, it will take contributions from more than Adams and running back Aaron Jones.

On the 49ers' side, the key to this game will be finding players to contribute from the running back position. This position has been decimated by injuries for the 49ers, which will force the team to look for reliable backs on Sunday night. They will need to avoid fumbles and other mistakes from the backs they do put out there against the Packers to avoid taking their first loss of the season.