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Football nights at Lambeau Field are about as hostile as it gets for teams on the road. The Divisional round matchup on December 23 between the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers was billed as a potential beatdown by many sportswriters; so called the “most lopsided game of the weekend” by a few. No such beatdown occurred. The game was a 60 minute battle of trench warfare, with the occasional major defensive play. When the dust settled, San Francisco walked away from Green Bay with a 13-10 win and on to the NFC Championship.
The two squads both boasted excellent talent to showcase on Saturday evening; for the 49ers: Nick Bosa, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, and Jimmy Garoppolo. However, with a roster deeply depleted by injury, San Francisco was a surprise to even have made it this far. Green Bay featured Davante Adams, Aaron Jones, Jaire Alexander, and the expected league MVP Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. The Packers (13-4) were the #1 seed and had home field advantage in the conference. One of their wins included a last second field goal to beat the 49ers 30-28 on September 26.
As fate would have it, the tables turned. The game was a defensive showcase that featured lots of punts and turnovers. Ironically, Green Bay’s famed offense was seemingly out of tune all game The Packers quickly and efficiently drove down the field on their first possession for 7 points, the 49ers quickly responded with a 4 play, -11 yard drive to set up the first punt of the game. The next six possessions would end in punts and, aside from an Aaron Jones fumble, this game was fairly quiet going into the second quarter. However, just before halftime, the 49ers drove down the field only for Jimmy G to throw what was seemingly a backbreaking interception to once again deny them of a score. The Green Bay offense would quickly respond; moving down the field at will and eventually setting up a field goal attempt to head into halftime.
This was the start of the mania. Free safety Jimmie Ward blocked a 39-yard field goal, keeping the deficit to 7-0 going into halftime. The second half was more of the same from the first two frames. The 49ers were able to drive down the field on a couple plays and cut the lead to 4 with a Robbie Gould field goal to make the score 7-3, still in favor of the Packers. After a few more wasted drives the Packers finally succeeded in driving a ball through the uprights, making the score 10-3. Finally, entering the 4th quarter, the game was starting to heat up.
The Niners went on a 9 play, 52 yard drive that brought them to the Green Bay 19 yard line with 6:15 left in the game. On 4th and 1, Elijah Mitchell was stuffed and San Francisco turned the ball over on downs. However, an Armstead sack on 3rd down setup another Packers punt, its fourth of the game. Wouldn't you know that special teams, having shined all night, blocked the punt. As the ball floated in the air, several players frantically looked around to find it. It landed safely in the hands of rookie Talanoa Hufanga who only needed to jog 4 yards to the endzone for a game-tying touchdown. Exciting stuff.
Aaron Rodgers tried to drive his team down the field but ultimately failed, trying one last Hail Mary pass to get within field goal range to once again take the lead.
So it was up to Garoppolo to, who only had 105 yards at that point, to lead San Francisco down the field. What ensured was a 9 play, 44 yard drive of passes and runs that gave Robbie Gould a chance to kick a 45 yard field goal with 4 seconds left. Like his namesake, Gould was goulden and Garoppolo moved to 2-0 against the Packers in the postseason. Aaron Rodgers? The Northern California native is 0-4 against his former favorite team.
The San Francisco 49ers will face off against the Los Angeles Rams, a team they've beat twice this season, on January 30 for the right to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Beat LA.
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