Too many mistakes again fatal for Green Bay
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Green Bay Packers felt the NFC championship game would be different than the 37-8 drubbing they took at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers in late November, but the No. 1 seed in the conference proved it was no fluke with a resounding 37-20 victory and will head to Super Bowl LIV in Miami.
It is the third time the Packers have lost in the NFC championship game since winning the Super Bowl in 2010.
Owczarski’s observation
There was some confidence in the Packers over the past week, feeling that their own issues on offense (turnovers, penalties) and defense (blown coverages) had been corrected. They acknowledged how good the 49ers were — but that the elimination of those mistakes could put the Packers in position to win. Unfortunately for the Packers, they not only made more mistakes Sunday night, but the 49ers just beat them up and then ran past them to once again blow the doors off the No. 2 seed.
Perhaps there were some adrenaline issues early for the Packers' defense with missed tackles or poor angles, but they had no answer for the 49ers' offensive line or running back Raheem Mostert. It was one of the more complete rushing efforts ever seen in the NFL playoffs as Mostert became just the eighth running back in history to top 200 yards rushing. His total of 220 is second all-time in the postseason and the most since Green Bay's Ryan Grant ran for 201 against Seattle in 2008. The Packers were just manhandled. Some late Packers touchdowns made it interesting on the scoreboard, but the game was never in doubt from early on.
5 things to watch revisited
Rodgers seeking title-game turnaround: An NFC championship game may have been old hat for Aaron Rodgers (Sunday was his fourth) but he had not played well in his first three appearances with five interceptions against four touchdowns. One could argue he didn't have a chance to do much at the outset Sunday, but when the game was still close early, Rodgers was sacked once on third down, fumbled once (recovered by the Packers but led to a punt), mishandled a snap that led to a turnover and threw an interception as the 49ers took a 27-0 halftime lead. The final numbers looked good — 31-for-39 for 326 yards, 2 TDs and 2 interceptions for a 97.2 rating, but it was too little too late for the Packers.
Dirtying Garoppolo’s uniform: 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was sacked 36 times in the regular season but the protection has improved since he was dropped six times against the Los Angeles Rams on Dec. 21. Seattle and Minnesota got him twice apiece, and he has been able to sit back and find his options. This continued Sunday, as the 49ers dominated on the ground. That allowed Garoppolo to attempt just a half dozen clean, short throws for catch-and-run chances for his speedy receivers through the first three quarters.
Reading the coverage on Adams: 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh broke some tendencies in the first meeting with man coverage and blitzes, but after the Packers leaned so heavily on Davante Adams in the divisional round to move the ball it was important for Matt LaFleur, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and Rodgers to figure out how Adams was being played. Initially it looked like Richard Sherman was going to shadow Adams, but after the Packers punted three times and turned it over once en route to the 49ers taking a 27-0 halftime lead, it didn't really matter much how the 49ers chose to cover Adams in the blowout.
Keeping the 49ers from going on a run: Against Minnesota, the 49ers imposed their will physically along the line of scrimmage by running it 47 times for 186 yards. This is what the 49ers want to do, not just to win up front but set up Garoppolo for success in the play-action and bootleg game. And this is where it all fell apart immediately for the Packers. The 49ers ran for 64 yards in the first quarter and 185 in the first half and just dominated up front, and the Packers had no response to the backfield speed once they broke through the line. That continued throughout the game, as the Packers couldn't contain the rushing attack (the 49ers only threw eight passes).
Slowing down the rush: In the first meeting, which saw Rodgers sacked five times and hit several other times, the Packers were without right tackle Bryan Bulaga for most of the game. But the 49ers were without speedy edge rusher Dee Ford. The Packers tried to stay committed to the run and quick throws, but the one time the 49ers did get a chance to rush, they pulled Rodgers down on a 13-yard sack to end one drive and a blitz resulted in a 12-yard strip sack to end another.
Game ball Aaron Jones, RB
The Packers didn't do much in the first half when they fell behind 27-0, but the Packers running back averaged 5.4 yards per rush in the opening 30 minutes. He then had 26 total yards and a touchdown on the Packers' first scoring drive. The game got away from Green Bay early, but Jones remained effective when presented an opportunity, finishing with 56 rush yards, 27 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
See, what had happened was…
On third-and-8 from the Green Bay 36-yard line in the first quarter, Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine deployed one defensive lineman, four linebackers and six defensive backs. The 49ers called a run to Raheem Mostert and on the play, Kyler Fackrell tripped down through the line and Preston Smith shot just outside the shotgun handoff. Then on the back end, Darnell Savage was playing the deep safety spot and took a bad angle coming down as the last line of defense. Mostert hit 21.87 miles per hour on the run and just blew past Savage without any issue. The explosive play gave the 49ers a 7-0 lead and set a tone for the entire game.
5 numbers 3-22
Third downs the Packers converted against the 49ers with Rodgers at quarterback in two games this season.
7
Interceptions Rodgers has thrown in four NFC title games. He has thrown six or fewer interceptions in six regular seasons.
40
Career playoff touchdown passes for Rodgers, surpassing Brett Favre for most in Packers history.
109-47
Difference by which the Packers have been outscored in NFC championship games since holding a 16-0 halftime lead in the 2014 conference title game in Seattle.
160
First-half rush yards for Mostert, most in the first half of a playoff game since 1991. Jacksonville's Fred Taylor had 135 in a 62-7 win vs. Dolphins on Jan. 15, 2000.
Next Gen stat of the day 18.02
Miles per hour Mostert reached on his 9-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
Did you notice?
The Packers didn't do much right Sunday, but early on when the 49ers did attempt to throw it, Pettine had a plan for George Kittle. In base looks, he had B.J. Goodson and Blake Martinez bracket him, he had Preston Smith chuck him once and then put cornerbacks Kevin King and Chandon Sullivan on him in pass routes.
Play of the game
On third-and-3 from the Green Bay 48-yard line, 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw tackled Packers running back Jamaal Williams from behind for a gain of two yards. Faced with a fourth-and-1 at midfield with just over six minutes gone in the game, LaFleur briefly considered going for it. He elected to punt, and the 49ers marched 89 yards on six plays to take a 7-0 lead and never looked back. Not that punting — or going for it — was wrong or right, but incredibly that lack of a conversion to keep the drive going and ensuing 49ers possession turned the game.