NFL Wild Card Weekend: City Of Champions Staff Makes Its Picks
By Matt Gajtka
San Francisco 49ers (12-4) at Green Bay Packers (8-7-1), Sunday at 4:40 p.m. ET on FOX
Gajtka: Now this one isn’t fair at all. Despite posting the second-best record in the NFL, the defending NFC champs have to travel to icy Green Bay, where the temperatures could be below zero for the entire game. I don’t care if you’re used to cold weather, air that frigid will have an adverse effect. It could be an ugly game, and I think that favors San Francisco. Perhaps the Niners will bust out more of the read-option with Colin Kaepernick, while the Packers will lean on Aaron Rodgers and Eddie Lacy. Prediction: 49ers 23, Packers 20.
Sep 8, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Kendall Hunter (32) carries the ball against the Green Bay Packers during the fourth quarter at Candlestick Park. The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Green Bay Packers 34-28. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Shetler: In three of the four matchups, I am going with the road team. It will be very cold in Green Bay and even though Rodgers and Randall Cobb are back, I like the 49ers. That’s based on their defense, which is much better than the Packers’. Lacy is a weapon for Green Bay and if the 49ers can take him out of the game they will make the Packers one-dimensional. 49ers 24, Packers 20.
McDowell: Rodgers is back, and San Francisco lacks the firepower to warm up the Green Bay tundra. No Super Bowl trip for Harbaugh’s 49ers this year. Packers 24, 49ers 20.
Weiss: Packers are ready for cold weather. Kaepernick is due for a cold game. Packers 41, 49ers 28.
Tunno: The return of Rodgers and Cobb will lift Green Bay over San Francisco in the frozen tundra. Packers 21, 49ers 17.
Snyder: Packers 24, 49ers 21.
STAFF TOTAL: PACKERS 4-2