How the 49ers Defeated the Packers to Advance to the NFC Championship

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Robbie Gould kicked past the posts and the Green Bay Packers stood in the sideline as his San Francisco teammates sprinted across the grass Saturday night in red parkas. At Lambeau Field they had not lost the whole season, neither in the warm weather, nor in the mild conditions, nor in the cold of winter, but now in the midst of the snowfall a certain end had come.

The 49ers kicked the best-seeded Packers out of the 13-10 playoff game on Gould’s 45-yard field goal. Sixth seed San Francisco is moving forward to play either the Los Angeles Rams or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in next Sunday’s NFC championship game.

Beyond ending Green Bay’s sweltering season in the middle of NFL parlance, San Francisco could have put an end to Aaron Rodgers’ spectacular career in the green and under. Rodgers has failed to win a Super Bowl in 11 years, lost four times in a conference title game, and restructured his contract with Packers management last summer to allow for a team change.

The question for Rodgers will be whether he wants to play elsewhere. It’s unlikely that any other team will offer as complete a roster as the offensive- and defensive-heavy Green Bay – but not in special teams, as the Packers have no doubt realized.

Green Bay was rushed by AJ Dillon for 6 yards in the opening race, but scored until early in the fourth quarter with a 33-yard hit from Mason Crosby. At the end of the first half, Crosby blocked a field goal attempt. Then, late in the fourth quarter, Jordan Willis crossed the Green Bay line to block Corey Bojorquez’s pun, Talanoa Hufanga returning that point by 6 yards, making the score 10-10.

The blocked punt came just minutes after Rashan Gary, who was a devastating force for Green Bay the entire game, filled Elijah Mitchell fourth and 1st from the Packers 19-yard line.

After the 49ers stopped Green Bay and rodgers, who completed 20 of 29 passes for 225 yards, Jimmy Garoppolo drove San Francisco 44 yards in nine games to set Gould’s game-winning shot. This was San Francisco’s fourth consecutive playoff win over Green Bay, which stretched back to the 2011 season.