The San Francisco 49ers have done it again! The Divisional Round saw the 49ers take on the Green Bay Packers for the fourth time in the postseason during Aaron Rodgers tenure there. In all four of those matchups, the 49ers have emerged victorious. This game was no different as they were able to take the lead for the first time with the clock expiring. They ended up winning 13-10 and are now moving onto the NFC Championship game.
49ers Pull Off Improbable Victory
The 49ers didn’t play well. Their offense was stagnant, and they made far too many mistakes. However, that defense carried them completely. Jimmy Garoppolo had 131 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. In fairness though, he had numerous dropped passes from his best players early on in the game that fudged those numbers up a lot. Elijah Mitchell saw 17 carries and turned them into 53 yards. Deebo Samuel got 10 carries of his own and added on 39 yards.
In the passing game, George Kittle led with four receptions for 63 yards, dropping a wide-open ball in the first half that could have resulted in a 60-yard touchdown as well. Samuel had three receptions for 44 yards on top of Kittle’s numbers. Outside of them, only Mitchell and Jauan Jennings caught a pass for this team.
Defensively, they did it all. They let Rodgers and the Packers march down and score on the very first drive. Then stonewalled them from that point onwards. They had five sacks throughout the game and forced two crucial fumbles. Only one was recovered but still a major turning point. The biggest point of the game was when their special team’s unit blocked a punt and picked it up in the end zone for a touchdown. It tied the game and helped them win in the end.
Packers Special Teams Failed Them
Flipping over to the Packers, changes are most certainly coming. Aaron Rodgers didn’t look amazing, having just 225 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. Davante Adams was his favorite wideout though with nine catches and 90 yards. It was Aaron Jones that really stole the show for them. Jonse has 12 rushes for 41 yards on the ground, but then added on nine receptions for 129 yards through the air.
AJ Dillon had seven rushes for 25 yards and a touchdown but got hurt late in the game. Putting all the pressure on Jones. You could tell that nobody was getting open in this offense outside of Adams and Jones, and it played a major factor in this game. With no Robert Tonyan out there and Randall Cobb not playing at full speed, it was clear that nobody else was a threat out there. Allen Lazard and Mercedes Lewis were the only other players with a reception, each only had one.
Defensively, they were amazing. You can’t ask any more from them in this type of game. They had four sacks on Garoppolo and grabbed a huge interception at the goal line right before the half.
Special teams was absolutely the reason they lost this game. Green Bay had a field goal blocked on the last play of the first half, a play that turned out to be crucial looking at the score. They also had a punt blocked which resulted in seven 49ers points. Absolutely unacceptable for the top seeded team out in the NFC. Rodgers is likely off this team next year whether it’s for retirement or not. Plus, Adams won’t want to play here and will only be in a Green Bay jersey if he gets a franchise tag with Rodgers on the way out. Changes need to be made.
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