2024 NFL playoffs: Ranking 5 most impactful players in Packers-49ers matchup; Brock Purdy misses cut

Another NFL postseason, another Green Bay Packers versus San Francisco 49ers showdown. If it feels familiar, that’s because the matchup is the NFL’s most familiar playoff matchup with Saturday night in the Bay Area serving as the 10th edition between these two historic heavyweights. 

The seventh-seeded Packers became the youngest team (average age: 25 years, 214 days) to win a playoff game since the 1970 NFL/AFL merger following their 48-32 demolition of the second-seeded Dallas Cowboys . The top-seeded 49ers have won the last four matchups in this playoff series, but that was with Aaron Rodgers as the Packers quarterback. 

Now, Green Bay has a new field general in Jordan Love. He threw the second-most passing touchdowns (32) in the 2023 regular season and has helped power the Packers to wins in seven of their last nine games, including the playoffs, while throwing 21 touchdowns and only one interception in that span. 

The 49ers are currently huge 9.5-point home favorites against Green Bay, per Sportsline’s consensus odds, but with a quarterback as en fuego as Love, anything is possible. 

Here is a ranking of the five players likely to have the most outsized impact on the final result of Saturday night’s game.   

5. Rashan Gary, LB, Green Bay Packers




Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/2024-nfl-playoffs-ranking-5-most-impactful-players-in-packers-49ers-matchup-brock-purdy-misses-cut/

Author : Garrett Podell

Publish date : 2024-01-18 15:22:26

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