The Packers have lost starting OLB Aaron Kampman for the season due to a knee injury.  Kampman played in 9 games for the Packers this season and he made 42 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, forced 1 fumble and he has 3.5 sacks.  Kampman will be very hard to replace and rookie Brad Jones will get the first shot.  Jones was a 7th round pick last April out of Colorado.  He has played in 8 games for the Packers this season and he has 14 tackles.  This injury will likely hurt the Packers big time.

Aaron Rodgers had one of the best halves of his career to help the Green Bay Packers (6-4) build a big lead against the San Francisco 49ers (4-6) and hold them off to win Sunday.  Rodgers threw for 2 touchdowns and 274 yards in the first half and the Packers were up 24-3 at the break.  He slowed down in the second half and finished the game with the 2 touchdowns and 344 yards on 32/44 attempts.  Rodgers favorite target was Greg Jennings, who had 5 catches for 126 yards and a touchdown.  The Packers also got a big game out of running back Ryan Grant.  Grant ran hard for 129 yard and a touchdown on 21 carries.  The Packers let up a little in the second half and 49ers’ quarterback Alex Smith, who the 49ers drafted over Rodgers in 2005, led the 49ers to a second half come-back but fell short.  Rodgers has definitely been the better player and I am sure the 49ers wish they would have taken him instead of Smith back in that ‘05 draft.

The Packers defense played Smith very well in the first 2 1/2 quarters, sacking him three times and getting an interception by Nick Collins.  Smith went on to throw three touchdown passes after that though, including two in the 4th quarter.  The Packers had a hard time containing the 49ers’ TE Vernon Davis and rookie receiver Michael Crabtree.  Davis caught 6 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown, while Crabtree caught 4 passes for 77 yards and a touchdown.  They held Frank Gore to 59 yards, but he only ran the ball 7 times so they did not do a good job on the few times the 49ers ran the ball.  The Packers are obviously happy with the win, but they should be concerned with the way their defense let the 49ers back in the game.

34-year old Donald Driver still has a lot of game left as he has been the Packers’ most dependable receiver this season.  He has played in 9 games for the Packers this season and he has caught 41 passes for 663 yards (16.2 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Driver has also carried the ball 1 time for 13 yards this year.  Driver might be able to sneak his way into the Hall of Fame with a couple of more good years.  He has now played in 154 games in his NFL career and he has caught 618 passes for 8,652 yards (14.0 avg) with 47 TD grabs.  Driver has also carried the ball 34 times for 217 yards (6.4 avg) with 1 TD run in his career.  The Packers and Aaron Rodgers have really benefitted from Driver’s outstanding play this season and they need him to keep up the good work.

32-year old Ahman Green is doing a good job for the Packers so far this season.  He has played in 3 games for the Packers since signing with them and he has carried the ball 11 times for 55 yards (5.0 ypc).  Green has also caught 3 passes for 18 yards (6.0 avg) this season.  The Packers have been looking for a dependable backup to Ryan Grant for a while now and they have appeared to have found one in old friend Ahman Green.  Green is also helping out on special teams for the Packers this season as he has returned 9 kickoffs for 196 yards (21.8 avg) so far this season.  It’s great to see Ahman Green back where he should be…..in Green Bay.

The Green Bay Packers (5-4) are coming off a great win over the Cowboys and need to build off that this week against the San Francisco 49ers (4-5).  The Packers need a win to stay in the Wild Card race for the NFC playoffs and if they get another performance like last weeks from their defense, they will be in great shape.  They nearly shut out the Cowboys, who are a much better offensive team than the 49ers.  Alex Smith has not been playing well at quarterback for the 49ers, so the Packers secondary needs to take advantage of any of his throwing mistakes.  Frank Gore is the engine that makes this team go though, so they need to key in on stopping his run.  Gore had a 104 yards and touchdown last week, so he is running the ball well lately.

The Packers need to be ready for an aggressive secondary who had five interceptions last week against the Bears.  Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler was making some terrible decisions though, and the 49ers defense gives up nearly 250 passing yards per game.  I expect Aaron Rodgers to find a lot more success than Cutler did last week, as Rodgers doesn’t throw the ball all over the place like Cutler.  Rodgers needs to be ready for pressure up front, but he is used to that by now as the Packers offensive line has been terrible at protecting him all season.  Rodgers has still found a lot of success despite his poor protection, and with Ryan Grant running the ball well lately (175 yards on 40 carries past 2 games) I think the Packers offense will do just fine against the 49ers defense.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Green Bay Packers 31, San Francisco 49ers 21