Best Rivalries of 2022: Green Bay Packers vs. San Francisco 49ers

The Packers and 49ers have a long history but their two epic matchups at the end of the 2021-22 season added a new chapter to this storied rivalry.

The 49ers and Packers played twice during the 2021-22 season, splitting their two games with the total margin coming down to a single point. The Packers won the regular-season matchup and carried Super Bowl aspirations into the playoffs, where their season was ended by the 49ers in a snowy upset.

As part of our Fandoms of the Year project, we’re taking this week to celebrate some of the best rivalries of 2022. To get more perspective on the 49ers vs. Packers rivalry, and what it felt like to be on either side of it in 2022, we’re turning it over to some of their biggest fans.

The 49ers perspective

In the pantheon of great rivalries the San Francisco 49ers have had over the years, the Green Bay Packers stand up there right among other rivals like the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants.

And Niners fans who witnessed how quarterback Brett Favre and the Packers regularly ended San Francisco’s postseason hopes with frequency in the late 1990s can attest to how bitter the rivalry had become, perhaps to the point of overtaking the 49ers’ longstanding fan hatred of Dallas.

Heading into 2022, however, tables have turned in favor of the red and gold, particularly after the 49ers surprisingly ended Green Bay’s bid for a Super Bowl during last January’s NFC divisional game.

That San Francisco victory on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field marked the fourth time quarterback Aaron Rodgers, himself a boyhood 49ers fan, lost to the Niners in the postseason. And while Rodgers had some bragging rights by beating San Francisco in Week 3 earlier that regular season, the latest playoff loss is yet another blow to his otherwise Hall of Fame resume.

The 49ers aren’t scheduled to face off against the Packers this season, although that could easily change if the two squads somehow wind up meeting in the playoffs once more (a possibility that seems increasingly unlikely with each passing week).

Rodgers might be envious of the Niners’ receiving situation, boasting Brandon Aiyuk and All-Pro Deebo Samuel, whereas Rodgers lost his favorite target last offseason, now-Las Vegas Raiders wideout Davante Adams, who tormented San Francisco on more than one occasion.

Even down to the individual players, that portion of the rivalry will be something the 49ers will hope benefits them, should these two squads meet up once more.

If they do, it’ll be in the playoff setting, and the Niners can hope their postseason history against Rodgers continues, adding yet another colorful chapter in this NFC rivalry.

— Peter Panacy, FanSided Associate Editor

The Packers perspective

The games never used to be so nerve-racking. Hell, from 1989 to 2010, the Packers were 14-2 in the series. That’s the equivalent of one of the best records a team can have in a single season. Unfortunately, starting in 2013, the boys from San Francisco became Green Bay’s playoff kryptonite.

2021’s campaign felt like the one. Not to say that there weren’t several seasons following 2010’s Super Bowl that didn’t … because there were a couple. But all the weirdness surrounding Aaron Rodgers along with his continually phenomenal play, it seemed like it was just lining up as too great of a story. Matt LaFleur had gotten 13 wins in all of his first seasons as a head coach, things were firing on all cylinders, and the Packers beat the 49ers pretty comfortably in their late regular season matchup. Albeit, with a late scare towards the end.

Since this playoff blockade that the red and gold have provided, it’s seemingly been the rushing attack that has flustered Green Bay — whether from the once-versatile Colin Kaepernick or Deebo Samuel and co. in this recent stretch. There has just been something about Green Bay and the NFC West in the playoffs that can’t help but deliver the most nightmarish heartbreak finishes.

Nothing will ever top the come-from-behind overtime choke against Seattle, but this last one was close. Both games were primarily defensive battles, both against West rivals, it just doesn’t add up when the offensive firepower is considered that was worked with leading up to it the rematch from the regular season.

Again, it all circles back to Rodgers. The guy gets his second MVP award in a row, tying him all-time in times won with Peyton Manning at four, and there’s worry surrounding him departing the team after the season. To come up short once again vs. the same team who has plagued him after three strong seasons was just sickening and felt like the end of the Packers’ Super Bowl hopes for a solid while. If they weren’t going to win it all that year, when would they?

— Drake Riggs, MMA Writer