49ers' visit gives Packers a chance to damage the playoff hopes of their postseason nemesis

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — After losing to San Francisco in the playoffs three of the last five seasons, the Green Bay Packers wouldn’t mind seeing the 49ers get left out of the postseason entirely.

The Packers (7-3) could damage San Francisco’s playoff hopes Sunday by beating the 49ers at Lambeau Field. San Francisco (5-5) dropped to .500 after losing at home to the Seattle Seahawks, though the 49ers remain just a game behind the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC West.

“I think we’re motivated to keep winning more than anything,” Packers center Josh Myers said. “Obviously, they have knocked us out quite a bit. There’s that extra motivation behind it, but at this point, we’re just trying to churn out wins.”

Green Bay is third in the NFC North and two games behind the Detroit Lions, but the Packers appear on track to at least earn a wild-card playoff berth. History suggests their path to a potential Super Bowl would get much clearer if the 49ers aren’t standing in their way.

The 49ers trailed 21-14 in the fourth quarter before rallying to beat the Packers 24-21 in the divisional playoffs last year on Christian McCaffrey’s 6-yard touchdown run with 1:07 left. Now it’s the 49ers who are struggling to protect late leads, as they’ve blown fourth-quarter advantages in three games against divisional opponents.

“You could look at, ‘Hey, we’re three possessions away from being 8-2,’ but you can’t really live like that,” 49ers tight end George Kittle said. “Those are the mistakes that we’ve made to be 5-5. It’s not exactly where we want to be. It is frustrating. The nice thing is we have seven games left to go out there and play Niners football and take advantage of those opportunities.”

Green Bay’s recent history of playoff frustration against the 49ers also includes a 13-10 loss at Lambeau Field in the 2021 divisional playoffs and a 37-20 road defeat in the 2019 NFC championship game.

Even the Packers who weren’t around for last season’s playoff loss realize what this game means.

“I think one of the first meetings that I was in here, we had a conversation about the Niners beating us,” said Green Bay safety Xavier McKinney, who joined the Packers this season. “So I understand how important it is, and we all do.”

Both teams must figure out how to convert red-zone opportunities into touchdowns.

The 49ers are scoring touchdowns on just 48.8% of their drives inside an opponent’s 20-yard line to rank 27th in the NFL. The Packers are slightly worse in that regard, scoring touchdowns on 48.7% of their red-zone possessions to rank 28th.

In their 20-19 victory at Chicago on Sunday, Green Bay drove to the Bears 5 without scoring on two separate series.

Kittle expects to play Sunday after missing the Seahawks game with a hamstring injury, but four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Nick Bosa’s status is uncertain after he hurt his left hip and oblique in that game.

Seattle scored both of its TDs after Bosa left in the third quarter with an injury and averaged 2.7 additional yards per play after he got hurt.

Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander didn’t play in the second half of the Bears game due to a knee injury that also prevented him from playing in a Nov. 3 loss to Detroit.

Green Bay’s defense feasted on turnovers the first part of the season, but hasn’t been as effective in getting those takeaways lately.

The Packers have 19 takeaways – already exceeding their 2023 total – but haven’t forced any turnovers in their last two games.

49ers coach Kyle Shanahan hasn’t eased McCaffrey back into the lineup in his return after missing the first eight games with Achilles tendinitis. McCaffrey has played 91% of the 49ers’ offensive snaps the past two weeks.

Jordan Mason, who rushed for 685 yards during McCaffrey’s absence, has just five snaps on offense the last two games. Shanahan said he’d like to get Mason more opportunities, but it’s hard to take McCaffrey off the field.

Green Bay nearly lost to the Bears because of its third-down struggles on both sides of the ball. The Packers were 1 of 5 on third-down opportunities, while the Bears went 9 of 16.

The Packers’ defense could have a tough time correcting that problem against San Francisco, which has converted 45.4% of its third-down situations to rank fourth in the league.

AP Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow contributed to this report.

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San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) runs toward the end zone to score against the Seattle Seahawks during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) is pressured by Seattle Seahawks defensive end Dre'Mont Jones (55) and defensive tackle Jarran Reed (90) during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) runs against Seattle Seahawks safety Julian Love (20) and defensive tackle Roy Robertson-Harris (98) during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings, top, is congratulated by teammates after scoring against the Seattle Seahawks during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Green Bay Packers' Jordan Love throws during the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Chicago Bears' DJ Moore is stoped by Green Bay Packers' Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams and Carrington Valentine during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Green Bay Packers' Jayden Reed celebrates his touchdown catch with John FitzPatrick and Christian Watson during the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur argues a call during the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

FORESTVILLE, Calif. (AP) — A major storm moving through Northern California on Thursday toppled trees and dropped heavy snow and record rain after damaging homes, killing two people and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands in the Pacific Northwest. Forecasters warned that the risk of flash flooding and rockslides would continue, and scores of flights were canceled at San Francisco's airport.

In Washington, more than 320,000 people — most of them in the Seattle area — were still without power as crews worked to clear streets of electrical lines, fallen branches and debris. Utility officials said the outages could last into Saturday.

Meanwhile on the East Coast, where rare wildfires have raged, New York and New Jersey welcomed much-needed rain that could ease the fire danger for the rest of the year.

The National Weather Service extended a flood watch into Saturday for areas north of San Francisco as the region was inundated by the strongest atmospheric river — a long plume of moisture that forms over an ocean and flows through the sky over land — this season. The system roared ashore Tuesday as a “bomb cyclone,” unleashing fierce winds.

Communities in Washington opened warming centers offering free internet and device charging. A number of medical clinics closed, forcing appointments to be rescheduled.

“I’ve been here since the mid-’80s. I haven’t seen anything like this,” said Trish Bloor, who serves on the city of Issaquah’s Human Resources Commission, as she surveyed damaged homes.

Up to 16 inches (about 41 centimeters) of rain was forecast in southwestern Oregon and California's northern counties through Friday. The Sonoma County Airport, in the wine country north of San Francisco, received 6.92 inches (17.5 centimeters) Wednesday, breaking a record dating to 1998.

In nearby Forestville, one person was hurt when a tree fell on a house. Small landslides were reported across the North Bay region, including one on State Route 281 on Wednesday that caused a car crash, according to Marc Chenard, a weather service meteorologist.

Rain slowed somewhat, but “persistent heavy rain will enter the picture again by Friday morning,” the weather service's San Francisco office said on the social platform X. “We are not done!”

Dangerous flash flooding, rockslides and debris flows were possible, especially where hillsides were loosened by recent wildfires, officials warned. Scott Rowe, a hydrologist with the weather service in Sacramento, said that so far the ground has been able to absorb the rain in Butte and Tehama counties, where the Park Fire burned over the summer.

“It’s not necessarily how much rain falls; it’s how fast the rain falls,” Rowe said.

Northern Mendocino and southern Humboldt counties received between 4 and 8 inches (10 and 20 centimeters) of rain in the last 48 hours, and similar amounts were expected over the next 48 hours, forecasters said. Wind gusts could top 50 mph (80 kph).

The storm system, which first hit the Pacific Northwest on Tuesday, reached the status of “ bomb cyclone,” which occurs when a cyclone intensifies rapidly.

A winter storm watch was in place for the northern Sierra Nevada above 3,500 feet (1,066 meters), with 15 inches (38 centimeters) of snow possible over two days. Wind gusts could top 75 mph (121 kph) in mountain areas, forecasters said.

Sugar Bowl Resort, north of Lake Tahoe near Donner Summit, picked up a foot (30 centimeters) of snow overnight, marketing manager Maggie Eshbaugh said Thursday. She said the resort will welcome skiers and boarders on Friday, the earliest opening date in 20 years.

“And then we’re going to get another whopping of another foot or so on Saturday, so this is fantastic,” she said. Another popular resort, Palisades Tahoe, is also opening Friday, five days ahead of schedule, according to its website.

The storm already dumped more than a foot of snow along the Cascades in Oregon by Wednesday night, according to the weather service. Forecasters warned of blizzard and whiteout conditions and nearly impossible travel at pass level.

Falling trees struck homes and littered roads across western Washington, killing at least two people. A woman in Lynnwood was killed when a large tree fell on a homeless encampment, and another in Bellevue died when a tree fell on a home.

More than a dozen schools closed in the Seattle area Wednesday, and some opted to extend the closures through Thursday.

In Enumclaw, east of Seattle, residents were cleaning up after their town clocked the highest winds in the state Tuesday night: 74 mph (119 kph).

Resident Sophie Keene said the powerful gusts caused transformers to blow out around town. “Things were exploding, like, everywhere,” Keene told the Seattle Times. “Like the transformers over by the park. One blew big, it looked like fireworks just going off.”

Ben Gibbard, lead singer of the indie rock bands Death Cab for Cutie and Postal Service, drove from his Seattle neighborhood Thursday morning to the woods of Tiger Mountain for his regular weekday run, but there were too many trees blocking the trail.

“We didn’t get hit that hard in the city,” he said. “I just didn’t assume it would be this kind of situation out here. Obviously you feel the most for people who had their homes partially destroyed by this.”

In California, there were reports of more than 20,000 power outages on Thursday.

Only 50 vehicles per hour were allowed through part of northbound Interstate 5 from 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Redding to 21 miles (34 kilometers) south of Yreka due to snow, according to California's Department of Transportation.

Transportation officials also shut down a two-mile (3.2 kilometer) stretch of the famed Avenue of the Giants, a scenic drive named for its towering coast redwoods, due to flooding.

About 150 flights were delayed and another two dozen were canceled early Thursday at San Francisco International Airport after hundreds of delays and dozens of cancelations the previous day, according to tracking service FlightAware.

Parched areas of the Northeast got a much-needed shot of precipitation Thursday, providing a bit of respite in a region plagued by wildfires and dwindling water supplies. More than 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain was expected by Saturday morning in areas north of New York City, with snow mixed in at higher elevations.

“Any rainfall is going to be significant at this point,” said Brian Ciemnecki, a weather service meteorologist in New York City, where the first drought warning in 22 years was issued this week. “Is it going to break the drought? No, we’re going to need more rain than that.”

Har reported from San Francisco, and Weber from Los Angeles. Associated Press writers Hallie Golden and Gene Johnson in Seattle; Martha Bellisle in Issaquah, Washington; Sarah Brumfield in Washington, D.C.; and Michael Hill in Albany, New York, contributed.

Workers clear walking paths with snow blowers during a storm Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort in Norden, Calif. (AP Photo/Brooke Hess-Homeier)

A worker clears a road with a snow blower during a storm Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort in Norden, Calif. (AP Photo/Brooke Hess-Homeier)

A worker scoops snow from a sidewalk during a storm Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort in Norden, Calif. (AP Photo/Brooke Hess-Homeier)

Snow is cleared from a road by tractor Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, at Donner Ski Ranch near Truckee, Calif. (AP Photo/Brooke Hess-Homeier)

A lone skier rides on a lift Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort in Norden, Calif. (AP Photo/Brooke Hess-Homeier)

A downed tree destroys a vehicle and a property during a storm, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Forestville, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Snow accumulates in front of a welcome center during a storm Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, on Donner Summit near Truckee, Calif. (AP Photo/Brooke Hess-Homeier)

Salvador Garza shovels snow from the front of his shop Crystal Tones in Mt. Shasta, Calif.,, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, where runoff from rain and melting snow has begun to create standing water after an atmospheric river storm dumped significant precipitation in the area since Tuesday evening. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

A worker clears the entrance to a building with a snow blower during a storm, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort in Norden, Calif. (AP Photo/Brooke Hess-Homeier)

Flood water is seen across State Route 254 near Redcrest, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

A passenger plane taxies on a water soaked runway at San Francisco Airport while passengers wait for flights on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Andy Bao)

Cars are covered in snow during a storm Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Soda Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Brooke Hess-Homeier)

Snow comes down on trees and a road during a storm Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort in Norden, Calif. (AP Photo/Brooke Hess-Homeier)

A downed tree lands over a property during a storm, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Forestville, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

A person is blocked by a downed tree during a storm, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Forestville, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

A downed tree lands over a property during a storm, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Forestville, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

A vineyard is flooded during a storm, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Forestville, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Emergency crews assess the damage from a downed tree on a property, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Forestville, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

The drive-thru area of a Taco Bell restaurant is damaged by a fallen tree Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Issaquah, Wash., after a "bomb cyclone'"storm brought high winds to the area. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes)

A woman was killed after a tree fell on her home during Tuesday night's "bomb cyclone" in severe weather in Bellevue, Wash. (Nick Wagner/The Seattle Times via AP)

People walk their dog as cars maneuver around downed power lines and trees caused by a "bomb cyclone" storm, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Bellevue, Wash. (Nick Wagner/The Seattle Times via AP)

People carrying umbrellas while visiting the Golden Gate Bridge are seen through a heart on the window at the Round House Cafe in San Francisco, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

A pedestrian carrying an umbrella walks in front of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Motorists negotiate the snow along I-80 during a storm Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Truckee, Calif. (AP Photo/Brooke Hess-Homeier)

Truckers hole up along the side of I-5 to let the storm pass before the highway is reopened in Weed, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Truck driver Kirill Foken shovels a trench alongside his truck's tires to free it up as he awaits for I-5 to reopen in Weed, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Truck driver Harry Singh of Seattle looks down Shastina Drive where several dozen big rigs were gathered after being stuck overnight in Weed, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

A Pacific Gas & Electric worker pauses while sawing a tree that toppled into power lines during heavy rains on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in the Occidental community of unincorporated Sonoma County, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Firefighters help a woman from a home after a tree toppled onto it during heavy rains on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in the Forest Hills community of unincorporated Sonoma County, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A truck crosses a flooded road Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Santa Rosa, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)