Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy has said that his team need to perform well on both sides of the ball if they are to progress further than Wildcard Weekend in the NFL playoffs.

The Packers secured their post-season spot with victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday, and this week will face the San Francisco 49ers for a place in the Divisional Round.

In the lead-up to the match, McCarthy expressed that his defense need to play to their maximum level if they are to stop Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers offense.

He told reporters: "The defense needs to play its best game of the year. We need to improve off of how we've performed here in the past. This is playoff football, so everybody understands that our production needs to jump up here.

"With that in mind, we'll be looking for offensive improvement as well to be honest."

After recording just 14 turnovers through the first 12 games, the Packers defense recorded eight in their last four contests to help them secure the NFC North title.