Will Packers-49ers serve as another rivalry renewal?

[Cheesehead]

In the here and now, the crowd of NFC contenders is intriguing enough. The 49ers (9-1) and Packers (8-2) are just two of five teams in the conference with at least eight wins already, along with the Saints (8-2), Seahawks (8-2) and Vikings (8-3), the last of the group to finally reach its bye week.


This is also just the first of five games in which two of those five contenders will go head-to-head. The 49ers still have to play the Saints and Seahawks, while the Vikings also meet the Seahawks and Packers, before the end of the regular season. Packers-49ers is far from the only rematch possibility.


“It’s tight at the top up there right now,” veteran right tackle Bryan Bulaga said. “I can’t really remember a time where it’s been like this before. Every game matters. Wins are going to be important.”


The Packers are in the best spot they could ask for heading into this showdown. They’re coming off a long-awaited bye week that allowed for rest and recuperation, and while the 49ers appear to be getting a key player or two back from injury, the Packers are the healthier team.


In locker room interviews throughout the week, the Packers haven’t tried to downplay the importance of this game. Which probably means there’s been no downplaying of it in the meeting rooms with the coaches behind closed doors.


Nothing is clinched one way or another with Sunday night’s result, and as outlined, there’s plenty of sorting out still to do amongst the NFC’s top teams.


But once again, Rodgers summed it up best.


“I think you’re just in denial if you don’t think about the implications of the ‘dub’ or an ‘L’ this week,” he said, “and how it affects stuff down the line.”