Packers Aaron Rodgers seek healthy return vs. San Francisco 49ers

Aaron Rodgers' sore knee continues to bother him as the season approaches its halfway point.

Aaron Rodgers' sore knee continues to bother him as the season approaches its halfway point.

Doctors can provide the Green Bay Packers quarterback with medicine. But nothing makes Rodgers feel as good as winning.

The Packers (2-2-1) will try to climb back toward the top of the NFC North standings when they host the San Francisco 49ers (1-4) on Monday night at Lambeau Field.

The Packers are 2-0-1 at home this season. Rodgers has saved some of his best work for home crowds, posting an 8-0-1 record in his last nine starts at Lambeau, with 22 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Now, if only he felt better. He sprained his knee in the season opener against the Chicago Bears, and he sat out Thursday's practice after experiencing a setback.

Rodgers expects to be available Monday, although he might wear a bigger knee brace that limits his mobility.

"I hope not," Rodgers told reporters when asked about wearing a larger brace. "The goal would be to wear the same brace I wore last week, but I have a lot of faith in our training staff, and we're going to (use) the brace we feel is most safe and (allows) me to do exactly what I'm able to do on Monday."

Meanwhile, 49ers quarterback C.J. Beathard is focused on fixing his mental mistakes. The second-year player out of Iowa will try to bounce back from a tough loss against the Arizona Cardinals in which he threw two interceptions, lost two fumbles and was sacked four times.

Beathard has taken over for Jimmy Garoppolo, who is sidelined for the rest of the year with a torn ACL.

"The bottom line is you can't lose the ball," 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan told the San Francisco Chronicle. "Whether you get hit, whether someone's not open, sometimes you need to get rid of it.

"Sometimes you need to take sacks. But the worst-case scenario, we plan on ending the series with the ball in our hand. That's something he's got to do a better job of."

Green Bay has averaged 401 yards per game on offence while giving up an average of 313.8. The 49ers have averaged 378 yards while allowing 348.4.

Packers wide receiver Davante Adams, who has seven touchdown catches in his past seven games, could pose challenges for the San Francisco secondary. He made nine catches for 140 yards and a score last week in a 31-23 loss to the Detroit Lions.

The 49ers' top target could be Pierre Garcon, whose two most recent games against the Packers included 100-plus receiving yards and a touchdown.

This is the teams' first meeting since 2015 when the Packers pulled away for a 17-3 win.

 

(With inputs from agencies.)