Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) looks to pass against San Francisco 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir (2) in the NFC divisional playoff football game on Saturday, January 20, 2024, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Brock Purdy and Nick Bosa were not available for the San Francisco 49ers when they entered Green Bay with designs on finding the finishing kick on Saturday afternoon.
Purdy is out with a right shoulder injury and won’t leave the field at Lambeau Field, head coach Kyle Shanahan said Friday, as he also announced Bosa is out and confirmed walk-on Brandon Allen will make his 10th career start at quarterback.
“Outside of here people have not seen much of Brandon. But the second year (with the 49ers),” said Shanahan. “Obviously guys want Brock to step up, but guys like to see Brandon play.”
Shanahan said the 49ers were “a little surprised” Purdy experienced tightness and discomfort in his shoulder after an MRI exam on Friday showed no long-term cause for concern.
“The way he responds this week, it’s really up in the air for next week,” Shanahan said of Purdy’s long-term prognosis.
Allen’s last NFL start is on the road with the Bengals at the Ravens in 2020. Allen completed 6 of 21 passes for 48 yards with two interceptions. He finished with a 0.0 passer rating in a 38–3 loss.
“Definitely an opportunity for me to go out and play well and put our guys in a good position to win the game,” Allen said Friday. “And obviously we want Brock back and healthy and everything, but right now, this is an opportunity for me.”
Purdy took the practice field Thursday with the goal of participating. His shoulder was very tight, and the 49ers took him off the field to meet with the trainer.
Purdy beat the Packers in the NFC divisional playoffs in San Francisco in January, but Allen was familiar with Packers head coach Matt LaFleur.
LaFleur was an assistant coach with the Rams during Allen’s two years in Los Angeles. Allen broke into the NFL in 2016 with the Jaguars and is 2-7 in nine career starts. He went 1-2 with the Broncos in 2019 and 1-5 in six starts over two years with the Bengals in 2020 and ’21.
A victory against the visiting 49ers on Saturday would bolster the Packers’ playoff chances, sending the conference rival below .500 and avenging a bitter playoff defeat.
That doesn’t seem to be in any particular order for the Packers (8-3), though they aren’t shy about living at least partially in the past before their Week 12 matchup.
San Francisco eliminated Green Bay 24-21 in last season’s NFC divisional playoffs, scoring 10 unanswered in the fourth quarter.
“This is something you have to sit with all offseason, go back, watch the game, try to see if you can do better,” said Packers quarterback Jordan Love. “What can you do differently in that game. … Just knowing that the team that beat us, we’re definitely hungry for this game.”
Ditto for San Francisco. The 49ers fell to 5-5 after last week’s 20-17 home loss to Seattle, completed by Geno Smith’s 13-yard touchdown run with 12 seconds to play.
Still only a game behind NFC West-leading Arizona, the reigning conference champion 49ers are only 1-3 in divisional play and could be ill afford to lose more ground.
A visit to AFC East leader Buffalo awaits after a trip to Green Bay.
While they are dealing with a lot of bad news regarding injuries, the 49ers are expecting the return of another contributor. Cornerback Charvarius Ward, who missed the past two games after the death of his 1-year-old daughter, practiced Wednesday. Tight end George Kittle is also looking to play after a hamstring injury bothered him against the Seahawks.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Kittle said. “Can’t pass up playing the Packers, so no, I’ll be out there for sure.”
Allen was a three-year starter at Arkansas but has been a journeyman backup since entering the NFL in 2016 as the Jaguars’ 201st overall pick.
Shanahan and LaFleur have been fierce rivals since the second time they worked together, first as a low-level assistant with the Texans in 2008, then the so-called “dream team” staff in Washington that also included Sean McVay, Mike McDaniel and Raheem Morris; and two seasons with the Falcons (2015, 2016) where LaFleur was the quarterbacks coach and Shanahan called the plays.
Shanahan scored his most recent win over LaFleur in January. Green Bay has won seven of the eight regular season meetings between the franchises.
But the familiarity and shared brain approach to the offense that has coached each other’s play calls has led to some tight games. The past three at Lambeau Field have all been decided by three points.
Green Bay, which hosts a home game on Thanksgiving next Friday, began a run of three games in 12 days. They will play again Thursday. Game Week 14 is in Detroit.
It might be good news for LaFleur that a surprising number of contributors have emerged lately.
Packers wideout Christian Watson had a career-best 150 receiving yards on just four catches during last week’s 20-19 road win against the Chicago Bears. His diving 60-yard reception in the fourth quarter put the Packers in position for Love’s go-ahead, 1-yard scoring run with 2:59 to play.
Watson entered the game with eight catches for 83 yards over the previous three contests, but LaFleur assured Watson remains a “huge part” of the offense.
“He’s a guy who knows everything you can measure in terms of size, speed, and it’s not like he’s making easy plays,” LaFleur said. “He made tough, contested catches.”
San Francisco will aim to generate more pressure on Love than the Bears, who were sacked just once. The 49ers collected four sacks against the Seahawks, with Bosa and Leonard Floyd contributing 1.5 each.
The history of the recent regular season between the Packers and 49ers at Lambeau Field has favored Green Bay.
The Packers have won seven of their past eight home games against the 49ers and are 22-11 against San Francisco all-time at home. Green Bay leads the series 34-28-1.
–Field Level Media
