Who will the 49ers play next in the NFL playoffs?

After a majority of the games during the NFL’s Super Wild Card Weekend resulted in blowouts, the pool of teams was cut from 14 to eight. Along the way, there were some surprising outcomes and upsets, including the Green Bay Packers defeating the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeating the Philadelphia Eagles.

The aftermath of these shocking results has given the San Francisco 49ers a prime opportunity.

After laying down the “blueprint” in their Week 13 shellacking of the Eagles earlier this season, Nick Bosa and the 49ers’ path to a Super Bowl won’t include a rematch versus Philly. The Bucs implemented a similar defensive strategy to the one Bosa suggested the 49ers put on tape against the Eagles and their quarterback Jalen Hurts revealed, which led to a 32-9 victory and a trip to the NFC Divisional Round.

Luckily for Tampa Bay, they were not the lowest seed in the NFC to advance to the next round, prolonging their potential date with the 49ers another week.

San Francisco 49ers will host No. 7 seed Green Bay Packers

Since becoming the first No. 7 seed to take down the second seed in a respective conference in light of the implementation of the current playoff structure, the Green Bay Packers are now rewarded with a trip to Levi’s Stadium to face the death star that is the 49ers, where they will be heavy underdogs for a second consecutive week. 

With the 49ers currently listed as 9.5-point betting favorites via FanDuel Sportsbook, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur is going to have his hands full as he tries to guide the youngest team to ever make the NFL playoffs to the NFC Championship in what will be a hostile environment. 

Given the way the Packers played against the Cowboys, the 49ers cannot take them lightly. Quarterback Jordan Love excelled in his first taste of postseason action, completing 76.2 percent of his pass attempts for 272 yards and three touchdowns while Pro Bowl running back Aaron Jones contributed 21 carries for 118 yards and an additional three touchdowns.

When do the San Francisco 49ers play next?

The Divisional Round clash between the 49ers and Packers is set to take place on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, at 8:15 p.m. ET and will be nationally televised on FOX.