On Nov. 24, the Green Bay Packers strolled into Levi’s Stadium with an 8-2 record, fully intending to get their ninth win of the season. Instead, they were bludgeoned 37-8, as Aaron Rodgers finished 20-of-33 for 104 yards and was sacked five times.
“It was terrible,” Packers legend LeRoy Butler said on The Zach Gelb Show.
The Packers, however, haven’t lost since. They’ve won six in a row, and they get a rematch with the 49ers this Sunday in the NFC Championship.
Butler expects a different result this time around.
“They’re going to clean a few things up,” he said. “They’re going to play better on both sides of the ball, especially on special teams. That’s why Tyler Ervin was brought in to help with that.”
There’s also this: No. 12 is 60 minutes away from his first Super Bowl appearance since 2010. Jimmy Garoppolo, meanwhile, has never been on this stage, at least not as the starting quarterback.
“To me, it comes down to quarterback play,” Butler said. “That’s what you can always rely upon. Your quarterback has been in a few championship games, and Jimmy Garoppolo hasn’t done that. The experience is going to be something we’re going to lean on.”
The Packers will also lean on Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith, who combined for 25.5 sacks in the regular season.
“I love that they’ve got this whole thing where they do interviews together,” Butler said. “I love that brotherhood. They do know in years past the Green Bay Packers wouldn’t spend a lot of money on free agency. They just wouldn’t do it. They knew they were brought in to . . . get you to the Super Bowl. I’m so glad these guys are on my team. There’s two guys I said that could play in the ’90s back with me and Reggie White. That’s 91 and 55. Those two guys can play on that defense.”