GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Special Teams did in a special season for the Green Bay Packers as the San Francisco 49ers stunned the NFC’s number one seed 13-10 in the Divisional Round playoff game at Lambeau Field. Robbie Gould’s 45 yard field goal through the snow at the gun propelled the sixth seeded Niners to the NFC Championship Game for the second time in three years and left the Packers wondering what it will take to take the last step or two to reach the Super Bowl again.
Fraught with issues all season long, Head Coach Matt LaFleur’s special teams coordinated by Maurice Drayton had a nightmarish evening.
Looking to extend their first half lead to 10-0, Mason Crosby’s 39 yard field goal attempt on the final play of the second quarter was blocked by San Francisco’s Jimmie Ward. He broke through cleanly from the left side of the protection unit between Tyler Lancaster and Dean Lowry to block the kick keeping the Packer lead at a touchdown.
Deebo Samuel then took the opening kickoff of the second half 45 yards to set up the first San Francisco points, a 29 yard field goal from Gould.
Leading 10-3 in the 4th, the defense, which played a marvelously inspired game came up with a 4th and 1 stop at the Packer 19 when Rashan Gary, who had two of Green Bay’s 4 sacks, stuffed Elijah Mitchell for a loss of one. The Packers took over with 6:10 to play but the offense, held in check after the game’s opening series which ended with an A.J. Dillon six yard touchdown run, failed to pick up a first down. On third and 8, Rodgers went down for the 5th time when Arik Armstead produced the sack which brought out Corey Bojorquez to punt from his own goal line. Long snapped Steven Wirtel was bull rushed by Jordan Willis who blocked the punt. The ball nearly went straight into the air with players from both sides trying to locate it. He bounced on the turf at the 6 yard line where Talanoa Hufanga scooped it up and ran into the end zone to tie the game at 10 with 4:41 to play.
The Packers final possession couldn’t deliver again. An ineligible player downfield penalty on first down was followed by a 4 yard catch from Aaron Jones. An incomplete pass to Randall Cobb set up third and 11 and Aaron Rodgers unloaded a hail mary pass downfield to a double covered Davante Adams that fell incomplete.
Bojorquez delivered a 57 yard punt but the 49er offense was able to move the ball from it’s 29 to the Packer 27 to set up Gould’s season ending field goal. In a fitting finish for the head scratching special teams unit, Green Bay had only 10 men on the field for the walk off kick.
It was a disbelieving LaFleur who had to face the media afterwards calling the game a very difficult one to swallow.
Mindful of recent slow starts in playoff appearances, the offense clicked on the opening drive. Adams caught three passes for 35 yards and Dillon powered in for a promising 7 to nothing lead.
Za’Darius Smith, in his first game since opening day, sacked Jimmy Garoppolo on his first snap to end San Francisco’s opening possession. In fact the defense would completely throttle the Niners until well into the second quarter. Two sacks by Gary foiled third down plays as the 49ers had no first downs and minus 10 yards on their first four drives.
But a Marcedes Lewis fumble on Green Bay’s second possession gave the San Francisco defense some life and their vaunted pass rush kept Rodgers and company bottled up.
San Francisco finally put together a drive to reach the Green Bay 9 late in the half but a holding penalty pushed them back. One first and goal from the 19, Garoppolo got flushed from the pocket and tried to hit George Kittle inside the five near the sideline but Adrian Amos came up with a huge interception. With only :40 left in the half, Rodgers got loose and found Jones behind the defense for a 75 yard catch and run to the San Francisco 14. It was the longest playoff completion in Rodgers’ career. But a strip sack was nearly disaster but Lucas Patrick pounced on the loose ball at the 21 yard line. That brought out Crosby but it was another disaster in wait.
LaFleur was right about his defense. They held San Francisco to 212 total yards. The feared rushing attack managed 106 yards on 29 carries. Samuel gained just 39 yards on 10 carries but his 9 yard burst on third and 7 helped them into position for the game winning field goal. Garoppolo was 11 of 19 for 131 yards but was sacked four times and pressured several more which led to the interception. Tight end George Kittle caught a game high 4 passes for 63 yards.
Green Bay finished with just 263 yards and only 67 on the ground. Dillon couldn’t finish the game after suffered a chest injury blocking on a first half kickoff return. Jones led with 41 yards on 12 carries. Rodgers went 20 of 29 for 225 yards but was sacked five times on the night. Inexplicably, 21 of his 27 targets went to Adams and Jones. The All Pro receiver finished with 9 receptions for 90 yards while Jones set a franchise receiving yardage record for running backs with 129 yards on his 9 catches. The only other receiver to catch a pass was Allen Lazard, a six yard gain before Crosby’s field goal early in the 4th quarter. Lewis’s fumble came after his only catch for 0 yards.
The offensive line had trouble with the 49er rush all night. David Bakhtiari was questionable going into the game and was deemed not able to play, so he was among the inactives. Veteran Billy Turner returned for his first game since December 12 and opened at left tackle with Dennis Kelly manning the right side. Both San Francisco defensive ends, Armstead and Nick Bosa, had two sacks each.
The other inactive players were Shawn Davis, Vernon Scott, Jonathan Garvin and Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
Za’Darius Smith made his first appearance since back surgery following the opening game against New Orleans. Whitney Mercilus also played after coming back from a torn biceps against Seattle in November and Jaire Alexander also saw his first action since suffering a shoulder injury against Pittsburgh in early October. Even with some star power back in uniform, the Packers just were never able to seize control of the game.
Might that have been the final game in the career of Rodgers? The presumptive Most Valuable Player (which would make back to back seasons and 4 times in his career), admitted his share of responsibility for the end result but didn’t want to consider the possibility of what might lie ahead this off-season:
The once vaunted advantage of Lambeau Field in the post-season, where the Packers won the first 13 playoff home games in their history, has turned instead into the tundra of disappointment going just 5-7 since 2002. Rodgers is now 0-4 in his playoff career against San Francisco and just 7-9 in the post season since the Super Bowl 45 victory 11 long, hard years ago.
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