My Three Thoughts - Playoffs: Packers at 49ers
San Fran survives a major scare and advances to host the NFC Championship Game.
Three Thoughts, as usual, is a tribute to the late, great Grant Wahl. Here I offer you about 1,000 words or so on a very entertaining NFC Divisional Round Game in Santa Clara.
The San Francisco 49ers were able to end their statistic about not being able to come from behind to win a game in the 4th Quarter under Kyle Shanahan by doing just that in dramatic fashion. They took the lead with 1:07 to play and then grabbed an interception to seal the victory and hosting next Sunday’s NFC Championship Game with a 24-21 win over the upstart Green Bay Packers.
These are my three thoughts:
– The 49ers will thank their lucky stars that they were able to play that game and live to survive and advance, but in the end, how you win is not nearly as important as if you win.
The 49ers had plenty going against them in the statistical department with a 4th Quarter deficit, no Deebo Samuel, and even the inability for their big-time pass rush to get even one sack on Jordan Love. But, they stayed the course offensively, converted ten different 3rd downs, and were able to put the final drive together when they absolutely needed it most. It would be difficult to suggest they looked great or invincible in any way on Saturday Night in the rain, but that is not the vital task. These NFL Playoffs are about figuring out a solution on the fly so you are not the team living in full regret and silence as you wonder how your season has been snuffed out so quickly after being in a promising position.
In the end, the Niners defense were able to hold Green Bay to exactly zero points in their final four possessions: Interception, punt, missed field goal, interception. Despite looking vulnerable in the secondary and pedestrian against the run, they ramped things up late and pressured Love into some uncomfortable moments where he finally looked like a QB who was riding in his first rodeo. Dallas was never able to put him in that position, but the 49ers were and that was probably the difference between beating the 7-seed Packers or sending them home.
Now, the 1-seed 49ers hope Samuel can go next week and prepare to host a game they earned with a regular season performance that guaranteed they would not need to travel until a potential Super Bowl. Green Bay put plenty on tape for today’s winner to consider and you can bet Detroit would love to try to run on a vulnerable front themselves if they can get that far. But, we do know this: the 49ers are back in the NFC Championship Game again and Christian McCaffrey is very much still a problem.