Packers take on 49ers with Xavier McKinney this time

Safety Xavier McKinney wasn’t with Green Bay last season when the San Francisco 49ers ended the Packers’ season with a 24-21 victory in the second round of the NFC playoffs.

San Francisco scored a touchdown with 66 seconds to play to move on to the NFC Championship Game.

“I actually did watch the game last year,” McKinney said. “We talk about it here ever since I got here. I think one of the first meetings that I was in here, we had a conversation about the Niners beating us, so I understand how important it is. …

“I definitely think it hurt the people that were here. I think any time you lose a big-time game like that and the way it was lost, obviously, you’re going to be feeling a certain type of way, so, yeah, I do get that sense.”

McKinney joined the Packers in the offseason as an NFL free agent after four seasons with the New York Giants. The former Alabama standout will be in Green Bay’s defensive backfield when the Packers take on the 49ers again at 3:25 p.m. CST Sunday at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

McKinney has played every defensive snap for the Packers and has six of the team’s nine interceptions to help Green Bay to a 7-3 record this season.

At 5-5, San Francisco already has as many regular-season losses as it had during the 2023 season. The 2024 losses have come by a combined 23 points.

“Obviously, they’re a team that’s played in big games,” McKinney said. “They’ve got a lot of big-time players on their team, and they know how to play ball, so, obviously, there’s always a lot of different factors that go into seasons and different things that can happen during the season. But they’re still a very good football team. They’re still a dangerous football team. Not only do we know that, I think everybody else around the league knows that. …

“They ain’t going to back down for nothing or nobody. I think they go out there and show that. They have a certain mentality that they play with. They got a certain group of guys that they’re not just going to lay down. I don’t think they have those type of guys that do those things. They play hard regardless of what their record is and regardless of what’s going on. You can see how they play. We understand that, and we got to go out there with the right mindset.”