Touchdown is set up by officials’ mistake
After the 49ers’ 2012 season ended with a somewhat disputed noncall in the end zone near the end of the Super Bowl, they received a referee-wrapped gift to start the new season.
In their 34-28 win over Green Bay, the 49ers scored a second-quarter touchdown when they should have been faced with a fourth-down, field-goal situation deep in Green Bay territory.
The sequence began when Packers linebacker
Clay Matthews decked Colin Kaepernick when the quarterback was out of bounds and drew a 15-yard personalfoul penalty. San Francisco left tackle Joe Staley retaliated against Matthews and also drew a flag.
After the offsetting penalties, the 49ers were allowed to replay third down, but the down should have counted because the penalties occurred after the play was over.
Instead of facing 4thand-2 at Green Bay’s 6-yard line, Kaepernick got another chance. On 3rd-and-6, he threw a 10-yard touchdown to Anquan Boldin to give the 49ers a 14-7 lead.
Referee Bill Leavy acknowledged the error after the game.
“I’m glad they missed that one,” fullback Bruce Miller said. “They missed some other things, but we’re not going back to that. What’s done is done.”
Davis delivers: After former 49ers wide receiver and current Fox Sports 1 analyst Randy Moss questioned the chemistry between Kaepernick and tight end Vernon Davis last week, the tandem was very much on the same page.
Davis had six catches for 98 yards and scored two touchdowns, which is more production than he managed during a month-and-a-half span in 2012. In the final six regular-season games last year, Davis had just six catches for 61 yards and didn’t score a touchdown. He awakened in three playoff games (12 catches, 254 yards), and Sunday provided more of the same.
“Like I tell everyone, we had all that time during the offseason to build chemistry and just get to know each other,” Davis said. “When you’ve got a quarterback, the receiver’s job is to develop that relationship.”
Davis has had at least one touchdown in each of his five regular-season games against Green Bay. His six touchdowns against the Packers are the most by a tight end in NFL history, according to Stats Inc.
Issue to tackle: The 49ers’ first-half defensive performance was marked by a slew of missed tackles.
Safety Eric Reid and cornerbacks Nnamdi Asomugha and Perrish Cox each whiffed badly on Green Bay passcatchers. Cox’s missed tackle allowed tight end Jermichael Finley to score on a 12-yard touchdown catch with 16 seconds left in the second quarter.
“That’s something that we have to correct,” safety Donte Whitner said. “And we will correct it. It’s very uncharacteristic of us, and we’ll get that fixed. We pride ourselves on being solid tacklers.”
Briefly: Lined up primarily against Packers rookie left tackle David Bakhtiari, outside linebacker Aldon Smith had 1½ sacks and four quarterback hurries. … Kaepernick (412 yards) became the first 49ers quarterback with 400 passing yards since Tim Rattay had 417 on Oct. 10, 2004.