NFC

San Francisco (12-4) at Green Bay (12-4)

9:30 a.m. Sunday, Channel 11

The line: Green Bay by 3.

Injuries: SF--DE John Engelberger (ankle), DE Chike Okeafor (leg), TE Greg Clark (hamstring). GB--None.

Story line: Brett Favre is 30-0 at Lambeau Field when the temperature at kickoff is 34 degrees or colder. The 49ers haven’t won at Green Bay since 1990. This will be the fifth time the teams have met in the postseason since 1995. The Packers won the first three, and the 49ers won a wild-card game three seasons ago at San Francisco.

Key matchups: Defensive end Andre Carter vs. tackle Chad Clifton: Carter has emerged as a pass-rushing force as a rookie; look for Clifton to get blocking help from Packer fullback William Henderson. Green Bay defensive linemen Cletidus Hunt and Gilbert Brown vs. offensive linemen Derrick Deese and Ray Brown: Garrison Hearst has been running well behind the left side--Brown and Deese--all season.

When the 49ers have the ball: The 49ers have been running the ball effectively all season with the one-two punch of Hearst and Kevan Barlow. The Packers are vulnerable to the run because of injuries to LeRoy Butler, Gilbert Brown and Nate Wayne. When the running game is effective, quarterback Jeff Garcia excels at finding seams in defenses cheating to slow the run. Terrell Owens, J.J. Stokes and Eric Johnson will present Green Bay’s secondary with matchup problems.

When the Packers have the ball: The Packers need to run Ahman Green off tackle, helping neutralize pass rushers Carter and Julian Peterson. If the Packers fail to establish the run, the 49ers will blitz Favre with abandon. Green Bay’s passing game is hard to stop because Favre spreads the ball around to as many as eight receivers.