Forget that regular-season matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers at Levi's Stadium, a game the home team won convincingly 37-8. The 49ers have already thrown that Week 12 contest out the window as they prepare for a rematch in Sunday's NFC Championship Game.
Both teams have improved since then. Green Bay has been playing better football and hasn't lost a game since that November 24, 2019, meeting in Santa Clara. The 49ers defense has been bolstered by the returns of defensive end Dee Ford and linebacker Kwon Alexander, neither of which played in the earlier game. Yet the pass rush still managed to get to Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers five times.
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk joined Good Morning Football on Thursday morning and said no one in Santa Clara is looking past the Packers. The team knows that Week 12 victory means nothing moving forward.
Kay Adams asked Juszczyk what he remembers learning from that earlier 49ers-Packers showdown.
"At the time, I just learned that we're a team that could play in any environment," Juszczyk responded, "a team that was ready to play on primetime. But now, we really have to throw that game out the window.
"We know that we had success on both sides of the ball. We know, on the offensive side, we could have played much better. The defense really set us up, put us in some really good positions.
"We know we're not going to see the same team as far as mentality and their emotion. They're not going to come in there and lay an egg, so we know we're going to get their best."