The 2019 season of the Green Bay Packers ended Sunday at Levi’s Stadium thanks to another dominant overall performance by the San Francisco 49ers, who handed the Packers a 37-20 defeat in the NFC Championship Game.
Here are the studs and duds from the Packers’ final game of 2019:
Studs
WR Davante Adams: The 49ers limited him to one catch on one target for seven yards in the first half, but Adams came alive over the final 30 minutes, catching eight passes for 131 yards in the third and fourth quarters. He made a one-handed catch on a swing pass and leaped over Richard Sherman for 14 yards. Later, he beat Sherman one-on-one when he earned a free release with an inside move, stacked the corner vertically and ran under Aaron Rodgers’ bomb for 65 yards. Five of his catches gained first downs. Adams, who finished the year with four 100-yard receiving efforts in the last five games, became the first Packers receiver in team history to produce four career playoff games with over 100 receiving yards.
TE Marcedes Lewis: Once again, Lewis was a dominant blocker on the edge. Had the game stayed closer, the Packers might’ve been able to give Aaron Jones more chances to get wide and find cutback lanes with Lewis handling the edges. Creases were available. Lewis also caught two passes for 14 yards, including an 11-yard reception on a tight end screen. The 35-year-old isn’t at all explosive, but he showed some elusiveness in the open field. His run-blocking was great all season.
Duds
LB Blake Martinez: Possibly the final game of Martinez’s career in Green Bay was nothing short of a burn-the-tape performance. The Packers inside linebacker was out-classed from start to finish by a combination of scheme and speed. It was a harrowing experience for No. 50. He either didn’t read plays fast enough and got himself blocked or was too slow to get to a spot and make a play. Kyle Shanahan knew he had an advantage and he pressed it ruthlessly. The difference in play speed between Martinez and the three 49ers linebackers was staggering.
DL Dean Lowry: Sunday provided a disappointing end to a mostly disappointing season for a player the Packers paid good money to extend this past summer. It wouldn’t be too harsh to say Lowry, who played 49 snaps, didn’t beat a single block the entire night. The 49ers didn’t fear him. They often ran right at him. He lacked the strength to hold up against combo blocks and the awareness to find the ball. On one third-down run, Lowry tried to get upfield but Mostert ran right past him for a chunk gain.
S Darnell Savage: The Packers played terrible run defense at every level. The rookie routinely took bad angles and missed tackles in the open field. On Raheem Mostert’s first touchdown, Savage underestimated his opponent’s speed and took a terrible angle. Mostert scooted by and ran down the sideline unbothered for the score. Soon after, Savage got bowled over by Deebo Samuel after the catch and nearly gave up a long touchdown. In the second quarter, he took another bad angle at Mostert and swung and missed with a diving tackle attempt. On Mostert’s third touchdown run, Savage got himself out of position and didn’t lay a finger on the speedy running back as he darted by.
DL Tyler Lancaster: The 49ers easily blocked him one-on-one on a variety of different run schemes. He was a non-factor and a down-to-down liability in a game that was begging for a big, tough run-stuffer to make life difficult on the offense. Lancaster played 35 miserable snaps. Rookie Kingsley Keke did a lot more and played a lot better over 11 snaps late.
S Adrian Amos: There’s a good chance Sunday was the worst first-half tackling performance of Amos’ five-year career. He missed a tackle on Deebo Samuel’s big gain, swung and missed in the open field on an explosive run from Mostert in the second quarter and then couldn’t even get a hand on the speedy running back on his 18-yard touchdown to end the first half. He injured his pec early in the game and eventually departed for good.
CB Jaire Alexander: A strict grader would have had him down for three missed tackles and two near misses. The Packers desperately needed their cornerbacks to be physical and tackle well but neither Alexander nor Kevin King was up to the task. It was comical to see Alexander jawing with Mostert after making a tackle at the end of another first down run in the third quarter with the Packers trailing by 20. He ended up departing the game with a thumb injury.
P JK Scott: The second-year punter was questionable to play with an illness. Neither Scott nor special teams coordinator Shawn Mennenga would use it as an excuse for a poor performance. Scott shanked a punt 23 yards in his own territory with the Packers already trailing 10-0, setting up a quick scoring drive. Earlier, his 48-yard punt was returned 26 yards. His net average on the first two punts of the night was 22.5 yards. His total average and net average were both boosted by a 62-yard boot before the half with the 49ers selling out for the block.