By Shawn Clarke, Contributing NFL Editor -- (Sports Network) - Winning on the road has been a quandary the last year for the playoff-hopeful San Francisco 49ers. That's exactly where they'll be in three of the next five weeks, however, starting with Sunday's tough bout against the Green Bay Packers at legendary Lambeau Field.

San Francisco has dropped three of four games away from the Bay this season, and is 3-8 in its last 11 road tilts dating back to September 28 of last year. At least the 49ers got back into the win column with their 10-6 Week 10 victory over the Chicago Bears at Candlestick Park, but it was far from being a satisfying offensive performance for head coach Mike Singletary.

Despite the usual strong delivery from running back Frank Gore, the Niners had just 216 yards of offense and quarterback Alex Smith passed for only 118 yards, although the former No. 1 overall pick did notch his first win since September 16, 2007 at St. Louis.

The 49ers made up for their inept offense by picking off Bears quarterback Jay Cutler five times, including one by safety Michael Lewis in the end zone at the end of the game. San Francisco probably would have lost had Cutler been able to connect on passes to someone wearing the same jersey, but the team was able to hang on and put an end to a four-game losing streak.

San Francisco entered last week's game fresh off committing four turnovers in a loss to Tennessee, and went on to post its seventh straight home win against Chicago.

The 49ers played well the last time they were on the road, even though the team sustained a hard-fought 18-14 setback to unbeaten Indianapolis. Singletary's squad will also visit Seattle and Philadelphia over the next five games and hopes to stay relevant in the NFC West race, where the 49ers sit second in the division behind 6-3 Arizona.

Hoping to at least earn a Wild Card berth for this year's postseason are the Packers, who will most likely miss out on an NFC North title with the Minnesota Vikings sitting comfortably atop the division.

Green Bay is certainly alive and well in the race for a playoff spot and ended a two-game losing streak with last Sunday's convincing 17-7 home triumph over the Dallas Cowboys. Much like Singletary, Packers head coach Mike McCarthy received an energetic performance from his defense, which completely shut down Dallas' running game and harassed Tony Romo all afternoon. The Packers sacked Romo five times to put a stop to the Cowboys' four-game win streak.

Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers had to pull out all the stops after the team allowed 76 points in losses to Minnesota and Tampa Bay, but the unit didn't seem intimidated by the Cowboys' potent offense. It held Dallas to 278 yards and just 61 on the ground in what was probably Green Bay's best game of the season.

Top cornerback and NFC Defensive Player of the Week Charles Woodson had a huge game, recording nine tackles including a sack, two forced fumbles, an interception and one pass defensed. The former Heisman Trophy winner leads the team with five interceptions.

Woodson and the defense hope to give Gore the same treatment they did to Dallas running back Marion Barber, who was held to 26 yards on five carries. Green Bay's new 3-4 defense under Capers is fourth against the rush this season, holding the opposition to 93.1 yards per game.

The Packers will still have their hands full against a San Francisco team coming off a strong defensive showing that sports an offense that averages more than 20 points per contest.

SERIES HISTORY

Green Bay has a 28-25-1 edge in its all-time regular season series with San Francisco, and has won seven straight regular season games since the 49ers last scored such a win, at Lambeau Field in 1990. The Niners are 0-4 in regular-season games at Lambeau since the win in '90.

The franchises also have an extensive postseason history, having met five times in the playoffs between 1995 and 2001. Green Bay won four of those games, with the most memorable contest coming in a 23-10 road win for Green Bay in the 1997 NFC Championship. The Niners' only playoff win over the Packers was a 30-27 home triumph in a 1998 NFC First-Round Playoff.

Including postseason games, Green Bay is 11-1 against San Francisco since the '90 loss, including 6-0 at home.

The Packers' McCarthy is 1-0 as a head coach against the 49ers, for whom he served as offensive coordinator in 2005. The 49ers' Singletary will be meeting both McCarthy and Green Bay for the first time as a head coach.

WHEN THE 49ERS HAVE THE BALL

Smith (808 passing yards, 6 TDs, 6 INT) played last week on a short turnaround and threw for 118 yards on 16-of-23 passing with an interception. He has just two touchdown passes and four interceptions in his last two games for a San Francisco pass attack rated 24th in the league. Smith is still looking for his first 300-yard passing game of his career and won't have an easy time this week at Lambeau Field. Ever since he lost his starting spot due to shoulder injuries back in 2007, the former No. 1 overall pick has been working hard to reclaim his role with the team. Wide receiver Josh Morgan (23 receptions, 1 TD) has caught the eye of Singletary and is expected to see more balls come his way. Morgan has been under the tutelage of veteran Isaac Bruce (20 receptions), who feels the youngster is ready to take the next step in his career. Smith's top target has been tight end Vernon Davis (45 receptions, 7 TD), who is thriving under offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye and leads the 49ers in catches, receiving yards (493) and touchdowns. The offensive line has been giving Smith a decent amount of time to find his open receivers and allowed just two sacks in the win over Chicago. Rookie Michael Crabtree (18 receptions) is quickly making up for lost time following an early-season holdout.

Green Bay has the fourth-best defense in the league and is allowing an average of 282.3 yards per contest under Capers' new scheme. Romo threw for 251 yards with a touchdown and an interception by Woodson, who is playing like a mad man for the Packers, whose 21 takeaways rank third in the league behind New Orleans and Philadelphia. Woodson is one of the main reasons for that and is thriving under Capers. Last week, the former Michigan standout became the first NFL player to record two forced fumbles, an interception and a sack in a game since Steelers linebacker James Harrison accomplished the feat two years ago. Woodson, who leads the team with five picks in 2009, owns 41 career interceptions, sixth among active NFL players, and has 24 picks in 55 games with the Packers. Cornerbacks Al Harris (33 tackles, 1 sack, 2 INT) and Tramon Williams (21 tackles, 1 INT) have made it easier on Woodson as well. Safeties Nick Collins (29 tackles, 1 sack, 2 INT) and Atari Bigby (21 tackles, 1 INT) are hard hitters in the defensive backfield. Collins is coming off a big game in which he recorded five tackles, a sack and two passes defensed.

Gore has been the glue to the 49ers offense and almost single-handedly won the game for his team last week, posting 104 yards and a touchdown on a season- high 25 carries. Gore (551 rushing yards, 6 TD) has a rushing touchdown in each of his last three games, marking the second time in his young career that he has a rushing score in three contests in a row. He has eclipsed the 100- yard rushing mark just twice this season, however, and needs three more to tie Joe Perry (20) for the most in franchise history. Hopefully Gore has watched the film from last Sunday's Packers/Cowboys game to decipher what type of method to use for this weekend. Guards David Baas and Chilo Rachal will most likely do a lot of pulling to keep Green Bay's front line off guard. The two have helped Gore average an NFC-high 5.2 yards per carry, while the standout back also ranks second on the team with 26 receptions.

Green Bay has posted 18 sacks this season and its rushing defense is one of the best in the league. Rookie outside linebacker Clay Matthews (23 tackles) leads the team with four sacks, including one against the Cowboys. The USC product also recovered both fumbles Woodson popped free versus the Cowboys. Leading tackler Nick Barnett (60 tackles, 3 sacks) and fellow linebacker A.J. Hawk (47 tackles, 1 sack) are tough against the run, and the duo may receive a boost with the possible return of linebacker Brandon Chillar (35 tackles, 1 sack), who was active but did not play against Dallas. Chillar is bothered by a broken hand, although McCarthy feels he may be back this week. Hawk took on an expanded role while his teammate was out. Outside linebacker Aaron Kampman (38 tackles, 2.5 sacks) didn't play last week because of a concussion, but hasn't been ruled out for Sunday. Seventh-round draft pick Brad Jones (12 tackles) took over for Kampman and helped Green Bay hold Dallas to a season- low 61 yards rushing. Defensive end Cullen Jenkins (22 tackles, 3.5 sacks) is the team's best pass rusher on the line and will try to get to Smith.

WHEN THE PACKERS HAVE THE BALL

Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers (2,444 yards, 17 TD, 5 INT) has emerged as one of the top passers in the NFL ever since Brett Favre finally left the scene. It's hard to imagine that Rodgers slipped so far in the NFL Draft, while highly-touted USC quarterback Matt Leinart took all the headlines from him in college. Now Rodgers is a top signal-caller at the highest level and fourth in the NFL with a 101.8 passer rating. His 63.6 percent completion percentage also ranks 10th in the NFL. Rodgers needed just 189 passing yards and a touchdown to beat the Cowboys, and has recorded a scoring pass in every game this season. The Cal product has the Packers 11th in passing, but is still getting sacked at a rapid rate. Rodgers went down four times against the Cowboys and has been sacked 16 times in the past three contests, along with an NFL-high 41 times in 2009. Rookie fourth-round draft choice T.J. Lang got the start at right tackle last Sunday and impressed McCarthy. He took over for the injured Mark Tauscher and Allen Barbre, with the veteran Tauscher possible to miss this week's bout as well. Guard Daryn Colledge suffered an ankle bruise against Dallas, but is expected to play Sunday.

49ers defensive ends Justin Smith and Isaac Sopoaga are probably anxious to get this game started, seeing how many times Rodgers has been sacked this season. Rodgers has been sacked 16 times in the last three games, but the two San Francisco linemen own just two sacks total in 2009. The durable Smith (11 tackles, 1 sack) has an active streak of 132 consecutive starts, which is the longest streak of current defensive linemen. Sopoaga (18 tackles, 1 sack) has been having a quiet year, but could be highly active against Green Bay's anemic offensive line. Cornerbacks Shawntae Spencer (29 tackles, 1 INT) and Tarell Brown (10 tackles, 1 INT) must keep up their solid play from last week's win over the Bears, since Rogers and the Green Bay offense are one of the best. Brown had one of the five picks on Cutler, while safeties Dashon Goldson (55 tackles, 1 sack, 2 INT) and Mark Roman (28 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT) both added a pick on Cutler. Lewis (43 tackles, 1 INT) later posted an interception in the end zone to seal the game. The 49ers have one of the worst pass defenses in the league, and must apply pressure on Rogers before he shreds the secondary.

Green Bay leading receiver Donald Driver (41 receptions, 663 yards, 4 TD) had four catches for 50 yards but no touchdown receptions against Dallas. Driver leads the team in receptions and is tied with unlikely tight end Spencer Havner (7 receptions, 4 TD) for tops among Packers with four touchdown receptions. Havner, who also plays linebacker, ranks second on the club with 13 special teams tackles. He may see his time go down with the pending return of tight end Jermichael Finley (17 receptions, 1 TD), who has missed the last three games with a knee injury suffered against Cleveland on October 25. According to McCarthy, Finley is expected to return to practice this week. Greg Jennings (38 receptions, 2 TD) is battling a bruised knee, but it's not serious enough to keep him out of the lineup. Jennings has two 100-yard performances on the season, which came in Weeks 1 and 3, and hasn't reached the end zone in two straight games. Running back Ryan Grant (700 rushing yards, 4 TD) didn't score either against the Cowboys and has only one 100-yard rushing game this season, back in Week 7. The Packers may be getting a bit impatient with Grant's lack of production, but he's still a threat.

49ers nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin (24 tackles, 2 sacks) was the fifth San Francisco player to come away with an interception against the Bears. Things are definitely going bad for a quarterback when a 300-plus pound lineman gets a pick. Talented Chicago running back Matt Forte was held to just 41 yards on 20 carries by the Niners after Tennessee's Chris Johnson scorched the San Francisco unit for 135 yards and two scores the previous week. Luckily for Singletary, he has inside linebacker Patrick Willis (88 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 2 INT) roaming the field. The intense Willis has double digits in tackles in back-to-back games and has recorded 10 or more tackles six times already in 2009. Look for Willis, Manny Lawson (41 tackles, 2.5 sacks) and Parys Haralson (19 tackles, 1 sack) to be running down Grant most of the day. Fellow linebacker Takeo Spikes (42 tackles, sack) may miss the game after suffering a hamstring injury against the Bears. Spikes did not play in the second half.

FANTASY FOCUS

There are many fantasy players in this matchup, but the Packers have the advantage since they'll be playing at home. They have a few no-brainers in Rodgers, Grant, Jennings and Driver, but the defense may have the toughest time against the Niners' strong ground attack. Give Capers' unit a shot since they're at home, and the same holds true for Packers kicker Mason Crosby.

San Francisco's Gore has been ripping up fantasy leagues and keeping owners happy with his week-to-week approach, while Davis, Morgan and Crabtree are all safe bets to start. Singletary's defense is coming off an exciting showing, but they might experience trouble in the tough surroundings of Lambeau Field. Kicker Joe Nedney is a must-start every week.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

Green Bay's ability to stop the run last week forced the Cowboys to throw often and put Romo in a vulnerable position. The 49ers will try and establish the ground game early with Gore, but they'll be going against a Packers stop unit that has yielded just 452 rushing yards since Week 4, the best in the NFC and third in the league behind only Houston and Pittsburgh over that time. This game is critical for both teams, but even more important for the Packers, who have the same record as the Falcons, Giants and Eagles. All four teams are tied atop the race for the NFC's two Wild Card berths. Rodgers has proven to the league that no matter how poor the protection is for him, he will still produce against any defense. It certainly helps when Grant finds his rhythm too, but this will be another week Rodgers puts the Packers on his back and slings them into the win column. Even though San Francisco has dropped four of its last five, it is still hoping to jump back into the playoff picture with an improbable victory at Lambeau Field. Unfortunately, the picks won't be piling up like they were against the Bears.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Packers 24, 49ers 13