49ers lockup no. 2 seed, Prepare to host Packers

For the second year in a row the San Francisco 49ers are NFC Western Division Champions. After punching their ticket to the playoffs last season which ended a nine year playoff drought, head coach Jim Harbaugh entered his second season at the helm of the 49ers with lofty expectations and was considered by many as the favorites to not only make it to the Super Bowl this season but also win it. And after coming so close last year before falling in the NFC Championship to the eventual Super Bowl Champion New York Giants at home in overtime, anything short of the franchise's sixth Lombardi Trophy this time around would be a disappointment.

Though their journey to the postseason this year has been much more difficult than it was a year ago when the team locked up the division with four more games to play as the second seed, the 49ers (11-4-1) still managed to lock up the no. 2 seed in the NFC on the last day of the regular season thanks to a Week 17 win over the division-rival Arizona Cardinals and a little help from the Minnesota Vikings who knocked off the Green Bay Packers to claim the final Wild Card spot, only to lose in the rematch the following week, 27-10. In that 27-13 win over the Cardinals, 49ers running back Frank Gore ran the ball into the end zone from 2-yards out in the fourth quarter for his 51st career rushing touchdown, surpassing both Joe Perry and Roger Craig to become the franchise's all-time rushing touchdowns leader. And while Gore has failed to eclipse the century mark in yards in nine consecutive weeks, he might be primed for a big game facing a Green Bay Packers team that he had one of his bigger performances against this season back in Week 1.

Compiling 112 yards on the ground to go along with a touchdown, Gore helped lead his team to a 30-22 victory over the Packers at Lambeau Field back in August. Though a lot can change for a team in nearly four months, the only major adjustment the 49ers have made is at the starting quarterback position which now belongs to second-year QB Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick, who was born in Wisconsin and grew up in northern California, made his desires to want to play professional football known at an early age by writing a letter in the fourth grade saying he wanted to play for either the Niners or Packers. Little did he know he would be playing in a playoff game that featured both teams in only his second year in the league, much less starting.

A similar childhood dream was that of Packers QB Aaron Rodgers who grew up a huge 49er fan, idolizing the great Joe Montana and hoping to one day be drafted by his favorite team. Those dreams were shattered however, when San Francisco instead used the no. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft on Alex Smith. While being passed on by the team he grew up rooting for is something he'll always have in mind, there's nothing Rodgers would like more than to send the 49ers packing and reminding them of what they could have had. Already with a Super Bowl MVP and ring on his resume as well as an NFL MVP Award which he took home last season, Rodgers is still seeking that second Lombardi Trophy that would help him leapfrog Brett Favre in popularity for good. Hoping to get in the way of those plans will be the 49ers defense which will be fresh off a BYE week.

A vital part of the vaunted 49ers defense has been the one-two punch of Aldon Smith and Justin Smith who's missed the last two games due to an elbow injury but should benefit as well as anyone from the extra week off to recover in time for Saturday's meeting. Prior to Smith's injury which occurred in San Francisco's win over the New England Patriots in Week 15, 49ers defensive-end Aldon Smith needed only three sacks to pass Michael Strahan's single-season sacks record of 22.5 sacks but failed to log a single sack once his partner in crime fell to the injury bug. But with the one they call "Cowboy" healthy and hungry for a ring, expect the Smith brothers to be a pain in the backside of Rodgers and a key reason as to why the 49ers will be making back-to-back trips to the NFC Championship. My Prediction: 49ers 27, Packers 20.


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