The 49ers finished 7th in the league defending the pass and 4th vs. the run. This will not be like running against the Bears who finished last vs. the run. I think the Packers will have to have success passing the ball in order to win this game so my guess is McCarthy will run the ball enough to keep their pass rushers at bay. If the 49ers can put pressure on Rodgers rushing four, that'll be a problem. The only good news I could find in the team stats is the 49ers were tied for 18th in sacks with 38 (the Packers had 44) but sacks aren't the only pressure stats and overall they were 3rd in scoring D.
Probably like most of you, my main concern is on defense. Even with a healthy Matthews, Jolly, and Hayward I think it'd be a close game. Add to that Neal and Perry not practicing and Pickett's gimpy knee and it's no wonder McCarthy said, "the defense needs to play its best game of the year".
McCarthy: "I love our defense," he said. "I love our football team. Throw the stats out the window. We could sit here and roll around in that stuff all you want. You can throw the bad ones at me and I’ll throw the good ones back at you. We’re a playoff football team. Our identity has changed. It’s kind of gone different directions of how we have to go play to win a game. This team’s embraced it, and we know it’s going to take the full game to get it done, and that’s the way we play."
http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/111083/defining-time-for-capers-packers-defense
Amen to that. The Packers will be able to score so it'll probably come down to the D. And it will be very helpful if the Packers win the TO battle.