The San Francisco 49ers Survive the Packers 24-21— But There’s Work To Be Done
Santa Clara, CA (PSF) — Exhale.
After holding their breath all game, as they fought against the Green Bay Packers’ suffocating momentum, everything finally clicked in the fourth quarter for the 49ers.
The 49ers’ offense was stifled drive after drive, by what seemed like a turnstile of factors: great defensive execution by Green Bay, inaccuracy on his intermediate to deep throws by Brock Purdy, the rain causing slipping, the offensive line allowing pressure, along with other factors, they finally broke through in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Packers 10-0.
Jake Moody hit a clutch 52-yard field goal to begin the final frame, and from then on the 49ers battled on both sides of the ball. They limited the Packers’ offense by tightening their coverages and applying more noticeable pressure in the pocket, forcing Packers Quarterback Jordan Love to make some uncomfortable throws. They were fortunate that Packers rookie Anders Carlson missed his 41-yard field goal try in the fourth quarter.
The 49ers’ comeback was carried on the back of Christian McCaffrey, who rushed for two touchdowns and 98 yards, including a 39-yard breakaway touchdown scamper that countered the Packers’ offensive momentum in the 3rd, and the game-winning touchdown in the fourth. On the final, game-winning drive, McCaffrey put the 49ers ahead with a 6-yard touchdown run, which accomplished two goals for the 49ers: put them ahead, and burned a significant amount of clock.
The 49ers left the Packers with just over a minute on the clock to orchestrate a game-winning drive. After having a handful of costly penalties and mistakes that benefitted Green Bay, the defense on the final drive of the game stepped up to the task, forcing a few incompletions before flushing Jordan Love out of the pocket, which led to an ill-advised throw across the field:
Thus, the roller coaster of a game came to an end. The 49ers, who had faltered in previous comeback scenarios, and had been below-standard all game, stepped up when it mattered and made big plays on both sides of the ball. Nobody stepped up more on the defensive end than Dre Greenlaw, the hero of this game with his two interceptions, and playing through injury.
Although they walked away from this game a winner, there is plenty of work to be done before they host the Detroit Lions or Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game. They’ve got some work to do. This was a wake-up call for the 49ers, and if they are going to win the Super Bowl they aspire to, here are some key things that need to change between now and next Sunday:
Time to Wake Up, Defensive line
0.
That’s how many times the 49ers sacked Jordan Love Saturday night.
0.
For a defensive line with multiple high-cost investments, first-round picks scattered throughout it, and a plethora of talent, to have ZERO sacks in a playoff game is unacceptable. They had 6 quarterback hits all game, 5 of which were by Nick Bosa, where most of them came from pressure after Love left the pocket and was being chased.
They lost the battle in the trenches, allowing 136 yards rushing on 4.9 yards per carry. Like I stated (twice) earlier, they did not sack Jordan Love once. Their lack of pressure gave Jordan Love time to hit some big plays with his arm, evidenced by Romeo Doubs’ 20.8 yards per reception.
Disregard Kevin Burkhardt’s “pressure coming” observation here. There was no true pressure. Love had at least 3 seconds in the pocket to sit and let plays develop downfield, which led to a big gain on an obvious passing down in 3rd & 6.
This cannot happen next week. Both potential matchups had dangerous threats in their wide receiver rooms and quarterbacks with good rapports with them — whether it is Baker Mayfield and Evans/Godwin, or Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown. Their pass rush and play in the trenches has to improve next week, and they need to either scheme up pressure to get home or light a fire under their guys to get home.
There needs to be a discussion about the Cornerback 3 spot
Ambry Thomas did not have a good game. At all.
Not even just the tiniest bit good.
There were no positives whatsoever. He was responsible for multiple big plays. He was flagged for a 41-yard pass interference call that immediately led to the Bo Melton touchdown for the Packers. He was targeted multiple times on every drive by Jordan Love and was a step behind guys almost every time. Part of this may be attributed to the soft zone coverage Steve Wilks was calling in the final quarter, but even considering that, Thomas was technically unsound, which led to those big plays and penalties.
A discussion might need to be held this week about keeping Ambry Thomas in the other outside cornerback spot across from Mooney Ward, or whether to insert Isaiah Oliver into the slot and move Deommodore Lenoir outside again. Both decisions come with their risks. Oliver is a better run defender and tackler but is worse in coverage. Ambry has his handful of coverage miscues and is not a great tackler, but is generally better in coverage.
Things will not get easier for Thomas is he remains the starter. Unless Mooney Ward shadows the team’s best receiver, Thomas will continue to be tested as targets come his way. Someone needs to step up and solidify their play for the rest of the playoff run, whether it’s Ambry Thomas or Isaiah Oliver.
Without Deebo Samuel potentially, can Kyle shanahan and brock purdy lead this offense at a high enough level to keep winning?
Brock Purdy looked a little out of his element Saturday night.
Errant on many throws, and finishing just 23/39 passing on the day, Purdy was not his usual accurate self and made a few ill-advised throws into some tight coverages. Coupled with Kyle Shanahan’s “interesting” play-calling decisions without Deebo Samuel, the offense looked out of sync almost all night.
When it mattered, thankfully the 49ers went back to what they were good at and ran the ball, complemented with a 6/7, 46 yard performance from Purdy on the game-winning drive, where his only incompletion was a drop by George Kittle.
Without Deebo Samuel though, the 49ers finished 0-3 in the regular season and scored just 17 points in all three games. Although they pulled themselves together, the offense looked out of rhythm and uncreative for about 50 minutes of this game. Obviously, losing Samuel is a huge blow to the creative breadth of Kyle Shanahan’s playcalling, while Purdy loses a dangerous playmaker to throw to on offense. They were able to pull it together for the final drive, but this kind of offensive play is not sustainable.
Their defense bent, but never broke for all 4 quarters, but there’s no guarantee that they 49ers will be able to do that for another 2 games while their offense puts up middling production. They’re going to have to adjust their gameplan going into next week to find way to create big plays besides handing it to Christian McCaffrey.
Jauan Jennings was an unsung hero tonight with multiple clutch third-down conversions and a 5/61 line. Chris Conley had a huge catch on the 49ers’ final drive. Kittle had an important chain-moving catch. That should be foreshadowing for how the 49ers move the ball without their home run threat in Samuel. Spread the ball to playmakers, keep the defense honest, and allow forward offensive momentum to be sustained with strings of positive plays.
Even with their shortcomings, the 49ers pulled out the gutsy 24-21 win over a talented, rising team in Green Bay. Their mistakes were clear, and they’ll have their work cut out for them when they face the Lions or Buccaneers next week.
For now though, the Niners live to fight another day, and proved to themselves that they, a team that didn’t face much adversity all year, can handle adversity when faced with it — the biggest silver lining of them all.
