After a blazing start on both sides of the ball against the Cowboys, the 49ers were upended right out of the gates as Green Bay received the opening kickoff and did just about anything they wanted to on their way to marching down the field for an easy score. With no answer for Pro Bowl wide-receiver Devante Adams in their Week 3 meeting earlier this season, Rodgers continued to find his favorite target wide-open on Green Bay's opening-drive as the two caused fits for the San Francisco secondary by connecting on three plays for 35 yards. From there, Packers running back A.J. Dillon would do the rest as Green Bay scored with ease. As for the 49ers offense, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo who had never played in a game throughout his career with the weather below 40 degrees, the Niners signal-caller certainly looked the part for much of the first half. With the temperature as low as 13 degrees at kickoff and a wind chill of 2 degrees, things would only get colder as the game wore on and the snowfall picked up. Putting things nicely, San Francisco's offense would get off to a sluggish start by going three and out on four straight drives to open a game for the first time since 2009.
By the end of the first quarter, the Niners would have a whopping -7 yards of total offense to their name as dropped balls haunted San Francisco early and often. The -7 yards through the first quarter would be the 2nd fewest in a playoff game in the last 30 seasons and San Francisco's fewest to start a game since at least 2000 (including playoffs). Luckily for them, the defense would manage to contain Rodgers and co. the rest of the way, outside of a few big plays. Catching a break on defense, the 49ers were able to put a stop to Green Bay's second offensive possession when All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner forced a fumble on Packers tight-end Mercedes Lewis, but were unable to do anything with it. San Francisco's offense would finally show signs of life on their final possession of the first half when they marched inside the 10 yard-line, but a penalty and an errant pass would sour their hopes of scoring any points before the half. Rookie running back Elijah Mitchell appeared to rush the 49ers on the door step inside the Green Bay 5 yard-line, but the play would bring them back to the 19 yard-line after a holding call on left-tackle Trent Williams. One play later, Garoppolo would escape a pair of sacks, only to be intercepted on a pass intended for George Kittle.
Hoping to at least head into the locker room at the half trailing 7-0, the 49ers nearly saw their deficit double when Packers running back Aaron Jones leaked out from behind the San Francisco secondary when safety Jimmie Ward was caught snoozing. The result of the play would be a 75-yard reception from Jones, before safety Jaquaski Tartt came through in the clutch by not giving up on the play and tracking down the Packers running back who appeared to be off to the races. After getting a big sack from Nick Bosa for a 5-yard loss, the Packers would setup for a Mason Crosby field goal from 39 yards out. Making up for his mistake just three plays earlier, Ward would find an opening and get a hand up to block the field goal attempt to keep it a one-score game. San Francisco would use the little momentum gathered from the big stop on special-teams by fueling their first scoring-drive of the game as Deebo Samuel ignited a spark with a 45-yard kick return to open the second half. The 49ers seemed destined to find the end zone at last, but a penalty for face-masking by the ball carrier Elijah Mitchell would pin the offense back another 15-yards. An additional infraction on the very next play for illegal-formation would force the 49ers to settle for a field goal which made it a 7-3 ballgame.
After a successful field goal from Crosby to open the fourth quarter for Green Bay, San Francisco's offense would make another trip inside the red zone before a gamble by coach Shanahan on a 4th and 1 from the 19 yard-line. Dialing up a run play to Mitchell, the 49ers run game was stuffed as they turned the ball over on downs. But just like the two turnovers prior, the ensuing offense would fail to do anything of note. Following an 11-yard sack by Niners defensive-tackle Arik Armstead who brought down Rodgers for his second time of the night, the Packers were pinned back deep near their own end zone for a punt when San Francisco's special-teams came through once again. Getting a hand on the punt by Corey Bojorquez was defensive-end Jordan Willis who came up with the huge block that sent everyone in a frenzy, unsure of where the ball would land. After it was all said and done, Niners rookie safety Talanoa Hufanga recovered the ball cleanly and walked it into the end zone for the game-tying touchdown. The blocked punt touchdown would be the first of its kind in 49ers franchise history in the playoffs and the first career touchdown for Hufanga. In front of a stunned Lambeau Field, the 49ers who had crept back into a game they showed little life in thru much of the first three and a half quarters, suddenly found themselves in prime position to steal another playoff victory from the grasps of Aaron Rodgers, all while riding multiple big plays on special-teams which had been their Achilles heel virtually all season long. Instead, that weakness was now winning them a must-win game.
After forcing a three and out punt on Green Bay's following drive, Jimmy Garoppolo would get yet another chance to silence the critics as the offense began to march. No one play would be bigger than the one from the Green Bay 38 yard-line as the Niners faced a 3rd and 7. Handing the ball off to Deebo Samuel, San Francisco's secret weapon dashed for a 9-yard gain to pick up the monumental first down, setting up some late-game heroics from veteran kicker Robbie Gould. Stepping up to attempt the biggest kick of his career with a trip to the NFC Championship on the line, Gould would split the uprights from 45-yards out to complete the walk-off victory for the 49ers. Sending his team to the next round, the kick would be Gould's 20th made field goal in as many tries in the postseason, the most makes without a miss in the Super Bowl era. With the win, San Francisco improved to 7-5 all-time in the playoffs vs #1 seeds and are 1 of 5 franchises with a winning record in such games. Becoming the first team since the 1988 Buffalo Bills to block a field goal and a punt in the same playoff game, coach Shanahan's Niners became just the fourth team since 2000 to win a playoff game without an offensive touchdown.
While neither team's quarterback wowed us with their statistics on Saturday (Garoppolo: 11 of 19 for 131 yards passing and 1 interception, Rodgers: 20 of 29 for 225 yards), the game did a lot for the overall postseason record of both QB's. What's likely to be the end of the road for Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, the future Hall of Fame QB and favorite to take home the MVP Award this season for a second consecutive season, has now fallen to 0-4 vs the 49ers in the playoffs, the worst record by any QB vs a single team in the playoffs since 1950. The loss also drops Rodgers to a mediocre 11-10 in his career as a starter in the playoffs and 7-9 since his lone Super Bowl win back in 2010. Though he did manage to surpass his mentor Brett Favre (5,855) for the 4th-most postseason passing yards in NFL history. Entering the game needing 1 passing touchdown to surpass 49ers great Joe Montana for 2nd-most playoff passing TD's in NFL history, Rodgers who was sacked five times by the 49ers defense, was held touchdown-less for the first time in a playoff game since the 2010 NFC Championship win vs the rival Chicago Bears. Unfortunately for him, his Packers have now lost 7 playoff games at home over the last 20 seasons which are the most in the NFL in that span.
As for his counterpart, Garoppolo now owns a career record of 21-6 (.778) as a starter on the road, 2nd-highest win percentage in the NFL since the 1970 merger, including playoffs with a minimum of 25 starts. Garoppolo is also 4-1 in his career as a starter in the playoffs, the highest postseason win percentage as a starting QB in 49ers history. Following Saturday's game, California teams are now 3-12 when playing in Green Bay during the months of December and January since 1950, including playoffs. The team that has won all three times? -- the 49ers.
49ers-Rams Preview: The stage is now set for the NFC Championship as the 49ers will travel to southern California to face the Los Angeles Rams for a third time this season in a battle between division rivals. While the Niners swept the season series against the Rams this season and are riding a six-game winning streak against their fellow NFC West counterparts, beating anybody three times in a season doesn't happen often and certainly doesn't come easy. After taking out the rival Arizona Cardinals in the Wild Card round, the Rams knocked off Tom Brady and the defending champion Buccaneers in Tampa, but not before another blown lead and some late drama. If the last match-up between these two teams which took place just three weeks ago is any indication of how things will play out in the NFC title game, San Francisco should feel right at home as their fans showed up in droves for the regular season-finale. However, the Rams are trying to put a stop to that and avoid a repeat of another red and gold invasion as they've teamed up with NFL partners Ticket Master to cancel fans outside of the greater Los Angeles area from purchasing tickets to the big game. Scared, much? With a ticket to the Super Bowl on the line in the same stadium that they'll be in this weekend, Shanahan and the 49ers will look to make it a seventh consecutive victory over Sean McVay and the Rams.
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