Kyle Juszczyk remembers the different feel when he took the field for the first time in the playoff rivalry between his San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers.
Two storied franchises with rich traditions that produced big stars facing off against each other on the playoff stage.
The teams are set to meet for the third time in the past five postseasons on Saturday night (8 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app) when the Packers (10-8) visit the 49ers (12-5) in the record-setting 10th playoff meeting between the franchises.
“It’s always fun,” Juszczyk said. “Green Bay’s just such a storied franchise. That rivalry of San Francisco and Green Bay is always a big one. Honestly, one of my best memories as a Niner was that NFC Championship Game here against the Packers and just in warmups, just feeling that energy. It was nothing I had ever felt here before. It was just such an exciting time, and hopefully we feel that again this week.”
The Niners won that matchup 37-20 to go to the Super Bowl and then repeated that two years later when they upset the Packers in Green Bay 13-10.
Few franchises have been as intertwined over the past three decades as the Packers and 49ers, with coaches getting groomed in one spot and ending up in the other, nine previous playoff meetings, and the draft decision that sent Aaron Rodgers packing for Green Bay instead of staying close to home and reviving the 49ers.
The teams that have combined for nine Super Bowl titles will meet with a spot in the NFC Championship Game on the line.
This will be the 10th all-time playoff meeting between the franchises, the most ever. All of those games have come in the past 29 seasons with no other teams meeting more than five times in the postseason in that span.
Here’s a look back at the rivalry:
Changing of the Guard
The Niners had been the NFL’s dominant franchise with five Super Bowl titles in 14 seasons when they ran into the Packers in the divisional round of the 1995 playoffs.
Coach Mike Holmgren had…
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Publish date : 2024-01-17 15:44:00
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