The Green Bay Packers are returning to the site of their worst loss in 2019 this weekend.
The location: Santa Clara's Levi's Stadium, surrounded by business parks and situated next to California's Great America amusement park. Green Bay's last visit sure was a roller coaster ride of emotions, but it definitely wasn't amusing.
None of that matters now to Packers coach Matt LaFleur.
"I don't want to give too much information away. But really that last game was a long time ago," LaFleur told reporters Wednesday when asked about his team's 37-8 loss to the 49ers in Week 12. "I think both teams have come a long way since then. You certainly take a look at it. Try to take bits and pieces from it, but there's a lot of tape on them and we know what we have to do. It's going to be a great challenge. They're a great football team. They have been all year long, they've got great coaches and we're just focused on our preparation and trying to be the best that we can be because we're going to need it on Sunday."
It was a game flexed to the Sunday night prime time slot by the league because of its matchup -- the then-8-2 Packers taking on the then-9-1 49ers -- but it didn't live up to the hype. LaFleur's Packers were boat-raced by the 49ers back in late November, with San Francisco feasting on Green Bay's leaky pass protection to the tune of five sacks just a few days before Thanksgiving. The 49ers exploded for 37 points in a complete effort from their offense, cruising to another blowout win on national television.
"You always want to learn from past mistakes and performance whether it's good or bad," LaFleur said. "You take what you can from it, but ultimately you've got to go out there and learn from it and move on."
"There's a little different vibe," LaFleur said of their rematch. "I haven't talked to (Mike) much and it'll probably be that way the rest of the week."
LaFleur is understandably keeping things close to the chest. An opportunity for redemption and a trip to the Super Bowl are on the line.
