The Green Bay Packers fell behind 27-0 in the first half and didn’t have enough run defense or firepower on offense to mount a legitimate comeback in the second half, eventually falling 37-20 to the superior San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday night at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
Game balls
- WR Davante Adams: Despite a quiet first half, Adams caught nine passes on 11 targets for a game-high 138 receiving yards, including an impressive 65-yard catch in the second half.
- No defensive game ball awarded.
Key Stat
285: The 49ers rushed for a season-high 285 yards, including 220 from Raheem Mostert.
Quick takes
– A captivating Packers season ended one game short of the Super Bowl. They’re now 0-3 in NFC title game since winning Super Bowl XLV. All three losses came on the road.
– For the second time in as many trips to Levi’s Stadium, just about everything that could’ve gone wrong went wrong early on Sunday. Offense, defense, special teams, coaching, game management. All of it. What a disaster the first half was. It ended up being way too much to overcome.
– In the 2016 NFC title game, the Packers trailed 24-0 at halftime in Atlanta. This time around, the Packers trailed 27-0.
– The Packers were outscored 50-0 in the first half of two games against the 49ers in San Francisco and 74-28 overall. Aaron Rodgers didn’t think the gap between his team and the 49ers was big, but the scoreboard suggested otherwise. The 49ers had more playmakers and were bigger and faster on defense.
– Matt LaFleur pointed to an inability to stop the run and turnovers on offense as the breaking points for his team. No arguments here. The Packers allowed 6.8 yards per carry and almost 300 total rushing yards, and the offense turned it over three times, including two critical first-half turnovers.
– Jimmy Garoppollo attempted only eight passes but the 49ers still scored 37 points. Kyle Shanahan’s creative run scheme and Raheem Mostert’s blazing speed killed Mike Pettine’s defense without any need to throw it.
– The Packers played nickel and base defense and neither had any chance at stopping the run. Mostert used his speed and cut-back ability to both hit the edge and find cutback lanes. The Packers defense was either slow to cut the corner or overpursued outside. It’ll go down as one of the worst performances from a run defense in NFL postseason history.
– Shanahan and the 49ers run game made Blake Martinez look like a really bad player. He isn’t, but the Packers need a major talent infusion at inside linebacker. The difference in talent and speed at the position between the Packers and 49ers was staggering. The interior of the defensive line needs help, too.
– Matt LaFleur had two shots at crafting a game plan to beat the 49ers and he came up woefully short both times. The Packers were undermanned talent-wise, but the coaching and plan didn’t come close to making up for it.
– Rodgers pointed to a mishandled snap in the first half as one of the turning points. He and Corey Linsley failed to execute the snap, and it killed a likely scoring drive and gave the football back to the Niners. Later in the half, he threw an interception in his own half that led to seven more points.
– Aaron Jones found running lanes early, but with the game script going haywire early, his opportunities in the run game became limited. His impact in the passing game never really materialized.
– Jace Sternberger made a nice move on linebacker Fred Warner to wiggle free for a second-half touchdown. He’s a young player to watch in 2020. Potential breakout candidate.
– Up next: The offseason. With another couple of impressive months building the roster by Brian Gutekunst, the Packers could certainly be back in this game – with a better chance to win it – in 2020.
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