By AJ Olona

Thursday, Nov. 5 at 8:20 p.m. ET

NFL Network

SPREAD: Packers, -5.5

This Thursday night matchup features the Green Bay Packers heading to San Francisco to face off against the banged-up 49ers. Both teams are coming off of tough division losses in Week 8 where the Packers lost to the 1-5 Minnesota Vikings. Thankfully for the Packers, the Chicago Bears also lost in Week 8, allowing the Packers to stay atop the NFC North. On the other hand, the 49ers lost to the NFC West leaders in the Seattle Seahawks, causing the 9ers to slip to 4-4 and last place in their division. Both teams are desperately in need of a win in Week 9. 

Green Bay Packers

With the Green Bay Packers having an early bye-week this season, they currently sit at a 5-2 record, keeping them half a game ahead of the 5-3 Chicago Bears. While the Packers have looked terrific for most of the season, they have recently suffered two key losses. When the Packers lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6, they were able to bounce back big time against the Houston Texans. Many people thought that the loss to the Buccaneers was just a fluke and that they were still the dominant team that they had been all year long. However, the loss to the Vikings is a bit more problematic. The Vikings have not been a good team all season, and the Packers allowed Dalvin Cook and that offense to completely take over the game. The Packers will need to bounce back again this week and prove going forward that they can string together consecutive wins once again. 

Packers Offense

Despite the loss against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 8, the Packers offense was still able to produce. Aaron Rodgers was still able to put up nearly 300 passing yards on the day and threw for 3 touchdowns. Aaron Rodgers was able to avoid turning the ball over on Sunday and was only sacked by the Vikings once in the game. However, that one sack came at a crucial point in the game that stopped a potential game-winning drive. The Packers looked to Jamaal Williams in Week 8 once again as Aaron Jones was still sidelined and was able to produce. Williams had 75-yards on just 16 carries and was also able to chip in 6 catches in the passing game. Devante Adams returned in a big way after missing several games this season with 7 catches that went for 53 yards and 3 touchdowns. Again, the Packers offense was not the issue in Week 8. However, there is cause for concern going into this game against the 49ers. Aaron Jones is still unlikely to return from injury for this game and both running backs Jamaal Williams and rookie AJ Dillon have been ruled out after Dillion tested positive for the coronavirus and Williams was deemed as a close contact case. The Packers currently only have two healthy running backs on the roster in Tyler Ervin and Dexter Williams. The Packers are going to struggle offensively if they are not able to produce on the ground, as the 49ers are one of the best passing defenses and the league. The Packers are still struggling to find consistent production in the passing game outside of Devante Adams. The only other notable injuries on offense that the Packers are facing are tackles David Bakhtiari and Rick Wagner who are both banged up. 

Packers Defense

Defensively, the Packers were embarrassing in Week 8. While Kirk Cousins only had 160 passing yards on the day, he was able to avoid turning the ball over and was only brought down once by the Packers defense. Of Kirk Cousins 160 passing yards, 63 of them went to Davlin Cook out of the backfield. Cook was particularly troublesome for the Packers, as he was able to gash them for 163 yards on the ground—226 total— and found the endzone on four different occasions on the day. Luckily for the Packers, the 49ers don’t have anyone on their team quite like Dalvin Cook that they are going to have to worry about. The 49ers are still without Raheem Mostert, and Jeff Wilson Jr. as they are both on the Injured Reserve, and they just lost Tevin Coleman once again in Week 8 against the Seattle Seahawks. They will be going into this game with Jerrick McKinnon and JaMycal Hasty as their only healthy backs, barring any moves before Thursday. The 49ers are also going to be without starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and will once again rely on the services of Nick Mullens. Mullens has been hit or miss each time that he has stepped on the field for the 49ers this season. Mullens was able to successfully fill in for the injured Garoppolo in Week 8 and put the 9ers in the position to make it a close game, but ultimately was not able to pull off the comeback. The 49ers best offensive weapon, George Kittle, will also miss this game due to injury. The 49ers have been injured all season long, and Thursday night will be no different. If the Packers struggle to shut down this 49ers offense, it may be time to start worrying about the Packers ability to make a deep run at the end of the season.

San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers have been faced with the same problem all season long: injuries. The team started the season missing several key players on both sides of the ball and it hindered them early on. Many thought that as the season progressed, the team would be able to get healthy just in time to make a run for the NFC West. However, that has not been the case as we have seen multiple players miss time and come back from injury only to miss more time. Jimmy Garoppolo will miss at least the next six weeks going forward, George Kittle is slated to miss the next eight weeks of the season, and Raheem Mostert still has no timetable for a return. The 49ers are playing with third and fourth string players on offense. Luckily for them, their defense has been stepping up as of late, especially cornerback Jason Verrett. The 49ers defense allows the team to be competitive in any game, even when they are hobbling onto the field on offense. 

49ers Offense

The 49ers will go into this game without their starting quarterback, their top three running backs, their All-Pro tight end, and the team’s number one wideout as they will all miss this game due to injury. Nick Mullens will have another shot to start, as Jimmy Garoppolo is slated to miss at least 8 weeks due to his ankle injury. Mullens has had his moments this season, and last week was one of them. Once Garoppolo went down, Mullens was able to step in and complete 18 of 25 passes for 238 yards and 2 touchdowns. Without a running game to rely on, Mullens was able to spread the ball around to his receivers, especially rookie Brandon Aiyuk and Kendrick Bourne. With the 49ers being weak at their skill positions for this game, players like Aiyuk, Bourne, and Jordan Reed are all going to have to step up big time to take advantage of this struggling Packers defense.

49ers Defense

So far in 2020, the San Francisco 49ers have had one of the best defenses in the NFL, especially when it comes to the pass. They are allowing just 209 yards per game through the air, and 21.6 points per game. One of the main reasons for the 49er’s success against the pass has been the play of veteran Jason Verrett, who is once again playing like a true number one corner in the NFL. With Verrett locking down his side of the field, it allows the 49ers to get creative on defense. With Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas both tearing their ACL’s early and the season, along with Dee Ford only appearing in one game so far this season, the 49ers are struggling to pressure the quarterback in 2020. The 49ers front seven will need to play their best this week to have a chance against Aaron Rodgers. The 49ers should be able to shut down the run on Thursday, given that the Packers are rolling into the game with their top three backs out. Despite how good the 49ers have been against the pass this season, there is virtually no chance that they will be able to slow down Aaron Rodgers in this game. Not many teams have been able to so far.

The Prediction

The 49ers have been hit or miss all season long. They have had really bad losses such as their 26 blowout loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 5. But they have also had some impressive wins, such as their back to back wins against the Los Angeles Rams and the New England Patriots in Week 6 and Week 7. The Packers on the other hand have been great for most of the season. They have gone 1-2 in the last three weeks, but they have yet to lose games back to back. Aaron Rodgers has also played great this season in all but Week 6 when they lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Despite that ugly loss, Rodgers has nearly 2,000 passing yards on the season and 20 touchdowns. Aaron Rodgers has been lethal most of the season, even with virtually no one to throw the ball to (outside of Devante Adams). Rodgers will look to bounce back after a tough loss, and he will look to take advantage of an ailing 49ers team. This game very well could get out of hand for the 49ers, especially if Mullens struggles once again.

AJ’S PREDICTION: Packers 27 - 10

CADE’S PREDICTION: Packers 35 - 14

JAKE’S PREDICTION: 49ers 35 - 27

SHAWN’S PREDICTION: Packers 24 - 13

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