Saturday Six-Pack: Packers Lose Heartbreaker to 49ers
'The Green Bay Packers were staring the ghosts of playoffs past in the face on Saturday night.
They had not won a playoff game in the Bay Area since the 1997 NFC Championship Game, when Brett Favre and Antonio Freeman led the Packers to a 23-10 victory.
They hadn't beaten the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs since 2001, when Steve Mariucci was their head coach.
Much like the Packers have owned the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys, the 49ers have owned the Packers.
Touchdown passes from Jordan Love to Bo Melton and Tucker Kraft had the Packers ahead 21-14 going into the fourth quarter.
A missed field goal by Anders Carlson led to a touchdown from Christian McCaffrey with 1:07 left to play.
Jordan Love had the ball with a chance at a legacy drive. It was not to be. Love made an ill-advised pass back across his body that Dre Greenlaw intercepted.
That pass ended the Packers' season.
Here are our awards from Saturday night's season-ending loss.
Game Ball: Aaron Jones
Aaron Jones is a special player. He has been for the duration of his career in Green Bay, and played well in a big game again.
He topped the century mark for the fifth consecutive game, rumbling for 108 yards on 18 carries against a tough 49ers defense that was keyed in on him for most of the night.
Jones' heroics were not enough as the Packers made too many mistakes on offense, but Jones was their best player, as he was throughout the stretch run.
There may be some questions about whether Jones has played his last game in Green Bay. Those will be nonsense.
Jones is the heart and soul of this Packers offense, and it's imperative that they bring him back.
Lame Ball: Darnell Savage
A tough week for Darnell Savage. Last week he may have been the hero of the game with an interception returned for a touchdown to give the Packers a 27-0 lead just before halftime.
Saturday night, he had a ball in his hands with a chance to give them a 10-0 lead early against the 49ers.
Instead, Savage dropped it and spiked the ball in frustration. It was a missed opportunity early in a game filled with them.
Savage's tough night would continue.
San Francisco's first two touchdowns came on plays in which Savage was directly involved.
He was in coverage against George Kittle when Brock Purdy found him for a 32-yard touchdown. That was San Francisco's only play of more than 20 yards in the first half.
Savage was also unblocked in the hole on Christian McCaffery's 39-yard touchdown run to give the 49ers a 14-13 lead.
It's not often that this award is easy to hand out, but this is a game Savage will want to forget.
Pivot Point: Anders Carlson Misses Wide Left
The Packers had the ball and the lead midway through the fourth quarter when Aaron Jones tried to put his stamp on the game. His 53-yard run put the Packers in scoring range with a chance to take a two-score lead.
The drive stalled, and one of the more controversial players of the week took center stage.
Matt LaFleur said the Packers would see things through with their struggling rookie kicker. Rich Bisaccia was not going to answer any questions about missed kicks.
Despite that, Anders Carlson led the league in missed kicks coming into Saturday night. He had missed a kick in nine of his last 11 games.
That became 10-of-12 when Carlson pulled a field goal wide left.
The kick gave the 49ers life, and a chance to take the lead.
They did that when Christian McCaffrey scored from 6 yards out with a little more than a minute to play. Instead of tying the game, that gave the 49ers the lead. One that would stand as the final score.
Play of the Game: Eric Wilson Saves The Day
The Packers trailed 14-13 when the 49ers were set to kick the ball deep.
They gave All-Pro kick returner Keisean Nixon a chance to do something special.
Nixon found a crease that has been few and far between this year for the reigning two-time All-Pro.
Nixon raced down the left sideline when disaster struck.
Nixon fumbled.
The ball bounced on the ground between a mass of humanity, when special teams captain Eric Wilson made what might have been the biggest play of his career.
Wilson dove as the ball bounced. Footballs don't take normal bounces due to their shape. That ball could have gone anywhere.
Instead, it bounced right into Wilson's chest, giving the Packers the ball deep in 49ers territory.
The offense would cash in with Jordan Love finding Tucker Kraft for a touchdown.
None of that happens without Wilson's heads-up play. In a year devoid of big-time plays from special teams, Wilson's play earns a gold star.
We Want the Ball And We're Gonna Score
Matt LaFleur probably isn't channeling Matt Hasselbeck when discussing his coin toss strategy to start the week, but that is exactly what his plan has been.
In a theme that has continued in recent weeks, LaFleur took the ball to start the game.
Last week LaFleur took the ball first against the Dallas Cowboys, hoping to send a message to his team that they were ready to not just play in the game, but win it.
The aggressive mindset worked as Green Bay jumped out to a 7-0 lead after an Aaron Jones touchdown capped a drive that took nearly 8 minutes off the clock.
LaFleur's plan nearly worked to perfection again, but the 49ers' defense, as they did for the entire first half, bowed its neck in the red zone.
Anders Carlson was forced to kick a short field goal after Love fired incomplete to Romeo Doubs in the end zone.
The Packers' defense and special teams made a play of their own to ensure that the 49ers would not have a chance to double up at the end of the first half.
After some odd clock management by Kyle Shanahan, Colby Wooden blocked a Jake Moody field goal that kept the score at 7-6 going into halftime.
LaFleur's call to go against the grain paid off.
Missed Opportunities
The path to victory as a double-digit underdog is usually pretty simple. Make more big plays, win the turnover battle, and don't make silly mistakes.
The Packers did none of those things on Saturday night.
Darnell Savage dropped an interception early in the game. Keisean Nixon dropped one in the second half.
Dre Greenlaw didn't drop the two thrown in his direction.
Jake Moody had a field goal blocked at the end of the half but made a kick later in the half.
Anders Carlson missed a kick in the fourth quarter that led to San Francisco's game-winning drive.
The Packers were 0-for-3 for scoring touchdowns in the red zone in the first half.
This will be a game where they look back at all the missed opportunities and wonder what could have happened if just one went the other way.
