GREEN BAY 鈥 Brett Favre dominated the San Francisco 49ers in the postseason, going 4-1 between 1995-2001.
Aaron Rodgers never could beat the 49ers 鈥 the team that bypassed him in the 2005 NFL Draft 鈥 going 0-4 in his career against San Francisco.
Now, Jordan Love takes his turn against the 49ers when the Green Bay Packers travel to Levi鈥檚 Stadium Saturday for a 7:15 p.m. game.
The seventh-seeded Packers (10-8) are 10-point underdogs to the top-seeded 49ers (12-5).
Here鈥檚 who has the edge at each position.
PACKERS vs. 49ers
QUARTERBACKS
If Green Bay鈥檚 Jordan Love was at a Las Vegas blackjack table right now, the bosses would ask him to leave. He鈥檚 been that hot.
In Love鈥檚 last nine games, he鈥檚 thrown a remarkable 21 touchdown passes and just one interception. Love has completed 70.7% of his passes in that stretch, thrown for 2,422 yards and has a 116.6 passer rating.
During the Packers鈥 stunning 48-32 win over second-seeded Dallas in an NFC wild-card game Sunday, Love completed 16-of-21 passes for 272 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also finished with a 157.2 passer rating 鈥 just 1.1 away from a perfect mark.
"He鈥檚 extremely consistent in what they鈥檙e asking him to do," 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said of Love. "(Green Bay head coach) Matt鈥檚 (LaFleur) very good at coaching the quarterback and you can see that their quarterback is buying in. He plays very well in their system and makes a lot of plays. He has a big arm and is a big dude too.鈥
San Francisco鈥檚 Brock Purdy, the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, threw 31 touchdowns and 11 interceptions this season. His passer rating of 113.0 was tops among quarterbacks that threw at least 75 passes.
When given time and a clean pocket, Purdy and his elite group of pass catchers can shred defenses. So the challenge for Green Bay will be to make sure Purdy doesn鈥檛 get too comfortable.
鈥淚 watched it a lot on film,鈥 Green Bay defensive end Devonte Wyatt said of Purdy. 鈥淲hen D-linemen just get pressure into him, he鈥檚 always throwing off or it鈥檚 behind them or it鈥檚 overthrown or it鈥檚 short. There will be a lot of picks or stuff like that. So when you get pressure on him, it鈥檚 a guarantee we鈥檒l get a turnover.鈥
ADVANTAGE: Packers
RUNNING BACKS
Green Bay鈥檚 Aaron Jones has 476 rushing yards in the last three games and is averaging 5.7 yards per carry. The Packers are 4-0 in those contests.
In Green Bay鈥檚 win over Dallas on Sunday, Jones had 118 rushing yards on 21 carries (5.6) and scored three touchdowns.
鈥淵ou guys see it, right?鈥 Packers coach Matt LaFleur said of Jones. 鈥淛ust his ability to put his foot in the ground, be explosive, make people miss. I can鈥檛 say enough great things about the guy, the football player, what he means to our team, the leadership he brings. He鈥檚 a rare guy. There鈥檚 not many like him.鈥
San Francisco running back Christian McCaffrey probably won鈥檛 win NFL MVP honors. Perhaps he should, though.
McCaffrey ran for 1,459 yards and had another 564 receiving yards on a whopping 67 receptions. McCaffrey finished the year with 21 total touchdowns and is the most complete running back in football.
ADVANTAGE: 49ers
RECEIVERS
San Francisco鈥檚 Brandon Aiyuk had a breakout season with team-highs in receptions (75), yards (1,342) and receiving touchdowns (seven).
He also averaged a whopping 17.9 yards per catch.
Powerful Deebo Samuel is the Swiss army knife of football players. Samuel had 60 receptions and seven receiving touchdowns, as well as 225 rushing yards and five rushing TDs. Tight end George Kittle (65-1,020-6) remains one of the best in football.
鈥淚f you look, Aiyuk is their leading receiver from a numbers standpoint, but then if you look at McCaffrey next and then George next and then Deebo next, it鈥檚 amazing how close they are,鈥 Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry said.
Green Bay鈥檚 Romeo Doubs had a breakout game against Dallas last week, posting six catches and a career-high 151 yards. That was simply the latest example of how five or six different players can lead Green Bay鈥檚 receiving group on any given Sunday.
That鈥檚 because the Packers don鈥檛 have a true No. 1 among their young group. They do have a bevy of players that would be No. 2 receivers on many teams, though.
Rookie Jayden Reed led the team in catches (64) and yards (793), and tied for the team lead in touchdown catches (eight). Doubs (59-674-8) had a solid second season, while speedy Christian Watson returned last week following a six-week hamstring injury.
Rookie tight ends Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft, along with rookie wideouts Dontayvion Wicks and Bo Melton have all had big games, as well.
ADVANTAGE: Even
OFFENSIVE LINE
Green Bay鈥檚 offensive line has gotten better throughout the year and allowed just 30 sacks in 18 games 鈥 which tied for third in the league. The Packers have also allowed just one sack in the last three games.
Right tackle Zach Tom has been Green Bay鈥檚 best player, allowing just two sacks in 1,068 snaps. Jenkins is playing near his Pro Bowl level from 2020, while second-year left tackle Rasheed Walker has improved significantly.
San Francisco left tackle Trent Williams is a future Hall of Famer. The rest of the line is underwhelming.
Right tackle Colton McKivitz is the weak link and has allowed nine sacks in 1,040 snaps this season.
ADVANTAGE: Packers
DEFENSIVE LINE
San Francisco鈥檚 defensive end duo of Nick Bosa and Chase Young rival any in football.
Bosa, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 draft, has 53.5 sacks in his first five years 鈥 despite missing nearly all of 2020 with a torn ACL. He鈥檚 come back stronger than ever with 44.5 sacks in the last three years.
Young, the No. 2 pick by Washington in 2020, hasn鈥檛 been as productive as Bosa. Young also suffered an ACL injury that cost him 22 games between the 2021-鈥22 seasons.
Washington declined Young鈥檚 fifth-year option, then traded him to San Francisco in October. In four seasons, Young has 16.5 sacks, including 7.5 this season.
San Francisco will move Bosa and Young around, and might line them up inside from time to time.
鈥淲e鈥檒l definitely see one of them, or maybe even both of them inside at some point in that game,鈥 Packers left guard Elgton Jenkins said. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e got a lot of different things they can do.鈥
Veteran defensive tackle Arik Armstead has had another terrific year. Armstead has 5.0 sacks and is tough to move in the run game.
Javon Hargrave is an active, tough-to-budge tackle who鈥檚 posted 7.0 sacks this year.
Green Bay defensive end Kenny Clark has already set a career-high with 7.5 sacks.
Second-year end Devonte Wyatt has made splash plays most weeks, but must be more consistent.
ADVANTAGE: 49ers
LINEBACKERS
San Francisco鈥檚 Fred Warner is arguably the best inside linebacker in the league. He led the 49ers with 132 tackles, had four interceptions, 11 passes defensed, 2.5 sacks and 6.0 tackles for loss.
Warner, in his sixth season, ran the 40-yard dash in a mediocre 4.64 seconds coming out of BYU. Watching him now, though, he seems to play the game faster than anyone else on the field.
His instincts are sublime, he can cover in space, and when he attacks quarterbacks, he typically finishes.
49ers weakside linebacker Dre Greenlaw (5-11, 237) is an undersized, run and chase player who was second on the team in tackles (120).
Former Packer Oren Burks starts on the strong-side and has had a solid year.
鈥淚 think he fits what they do defensively,鈥 LaFleur said of Burks. 鈥淗e鈥檚 got great speed, we always knew that. He鈥檚 a really good tackler. I think he鈥檚 done a really good job.鈥
The Packers need a huge game from outside linebacker Rashan Gary if they hope to advance.
Gary led the Packers with 9.0 sacks this year, but 6.0 of those came in just two games. That means Gary 鈥 who recently signed a four-year, $107 million contract 鈥 has 3.0 sacks in the other 16 games.
鈥淚 will be the first to say that there鈥檚 a lot of things that Rashan Gary does that doesn鈥檛 show up, specifically, on the stat book after the game,鈥 Barry said of Gary.
Packers inside linebacker Quay Walker has had a strong second season and continued that with a team-best 11 tackles against Dallas last week.
Outside linebacker Lukas Van Ness has emerged recently and will likely play more following the ACL injury to Kingsley Enagbare.
ADVANTAGE: 49ers
SECONDARY
San Francisco corner Charvarius Ward had a terrific year with five interceptions and 23 passes defensed. Third-year corner Deommodore Lenoir is solid, but not as gifted as Ward.
Nickel back Ambry Thomas is a feisty, press-man corner who can be a nuisance underneath.
San Francisco lost Pro Bowl safety Talanoa Hufanga to an ACL injury in November, a huge blow to its defense.
Free safety Tashaun Gipson, now in his 12th season, remains a high-level player against both the pass and the run. Rookie third-round strong safety Ji鈥橝yir Brown has filled in admirably for Hufanga, but could be a player the Packers look to test.
Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander (ankle) seems on track to play. Alexander lasted 52 snaps against Dallas and had an enormous early interception before his ankle gave out.
鈥淗opefully he鈥檒l be ready to go,鈥 LaFleur said.
Rookie cornerback Carrington Valentine is scrappy, but has been picked on at times. If Alexander can鈥檛 go, Corey Ballentine will get the call on the other side.
The Packers are 4-2 this year when Ballentine and Valentine have started together.
Safety Darnell Savage had a game-changing interception against the Cowboys, returning his 64 yards for a pick six.
ADVANTAGE: Even
SPECIAL TEAMS
Both teams are employing rookie kickers that have struggled this year.
Green Bay鈥檚 Anders Carlson finished his first regular season 27 of 33 on field goals (81.8%) and 34 of 39 on extra points (87.2%). Carlson started the year strong, but has missed a field goal or extra point in four straight games and nine of the last 11 games.
Packers punter Daniel Whelan ranked 28th in net average (39.7). Return ace Keisean Nixon (26.1) hasn鈥檛 been as dynamic as 2022, but still received first-team All-Pro honors from the Associated Press.
鈥淗opefully there鈥檒l be some opportunities for returns,鈥 Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia said.
San Francisco鈥檚 Ray-Ray McCloud (22,5) and Samuel (25.7) have both handled kickoff returns. McCloud (8.5) has been the No. 1 punt returner all season.
Kicker Jake Moody, a third-round draft pick, went 21 of 25 (84.0%) on field goals, but 60 of 61 (98.4%) on extra points.
Punter Mitch Wishnowsky has outstanding gross (47.7) and net (42.7) averages.
ADVANTAGE: 49ers
COACHING
Green Bay鈥檚 Matt LaFleur has guided the Packers to the postseason in four of his five years. LaFleur is 56-27 in that time, giving him the second-best winning percentage in team history (.675). Green Bay is also the NFL鈥檚 thirdwinningest team in the league since 2019.
LaFleur was handed the NFL鈥檚 youngest roster this season and did arguably his finest job by leading this group to the postseason.
LaFleur won his first-ever road playoff game last week, and first playoff game as an underdog. He鈥檚 now 3-3 in the postseason.
San Francisco鈥檚 Kyle Shanahan is in his seventh season with the 49ers and widely regarded as one of the brighter offensive minds in football.
Shanahan is 64-51 in the regular season and 6-3 in the postseason. He guided the 49ers to Super Bowl LIV, which they lost to Kansas City. Shanahan also led San Francisco to NFC Championship game losses in 2021 and 2022.
LaFleur and Shanahan became close when they worked together in Houston, Washington and Atlanta earlier in their careers.
Shanahan, the son of two-time Super Bowl winning coach Mike Shanahan, was the offensive coordinator in Houston in 2008-鈥09. LaFleur was an offensive assistant with the Texans those same years.
Shanahan became the offensive coordinator for his father in Washington from 2010-鈥13, then held that same position on Dan Quinn鈥檚 staff in Atlanta from 2015-鈥16. Each time, LaFleur was on the staff as the quarterbacks coach.
ADVANTAGE: 49ers
PREDICTION: San Francisco 30, Green Bay 27