SANTA CLARA — Kyle Shanahan and his 49ers coaching staff had begun preliminary preparations for four potential opponents going into wild card weekend. It became apparent before halftime Sunday they could zero in on the seventh-seeded Green Bay Packers, who jumped to a 27-0 lead against second-seeded Dallas.
It was then that Shanahan and Co. began serious work on the only team of the four the 49ers haven’t played this season. Yet Shanahan may have more good information on how the Packers operate than he would have the Cowboys, Philadelphia or Tampa Bay.
Without knowing it, the 49ers got work Thursday and Friday against a Packers offensive system that Shanahan and Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur grew up with as assistant coaches with Washington in 2010-13 under Kyle’s father Mike Shanahan.