SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The Packers went into Saturday knowing it was going to take a complete performance to finally carve out a path past the San Francisco 49ers in the postseason.
While Green Bay controlled the pace through the first three quarters against the NFC's top seed, the 49ers used takeaways and timely third-down conversions to pull out a 24-21 victory in front of 71,284 at Levi's Stadium.
For most of the evening, the Packers' defense succeeded in applying steady pressure to San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy while also containing All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey, but the two powered a 12-play, 69-yard touchdown drive that allowed San Francisco to take a three-point lead with 1 minute, 7 seconds left in regulation.
Green Bay still had three timeouts, but 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw picked off Packers quarterback Jordan Love for the second time in the second half to avoid the upset.
"I think with any game, you always think about what you could've did, what plays you left out there," defensive lineman Kenny Clark said. "It sucks. I feel like we played a really good game for the most part. Let it get away from us."
The missed opportunities came in all three phases. The offense went 0-for-3 in the red zone in the first half, settling for a pair of Anders Carlson 29-yard field goals and turning over the ball on downs at the start of the second quarter.
The defense had multiple chances to pick off Purdy, beginning with a Darnell Savage pass defensed on San Francisco's fourth play of the game. Nickel cornerback Keisean Nixon came close to another later in the game.
Greenlaw parlayed two Love misfires into second-half takeaways. The 49ers used the first to set up rookie kicker Jake Moody for a 52-yard field goal, which cut Green Bay's lead to 21-17 just seconds in the fourth quarter.
The 49ers converted 10 third downs, including three on their final scoring drive. Prior to McCaffrey running for a 6-yard TD on third-and-1, San Francisco converted a third-and-5 situation with a 10-yard pass to Brandon Aiyuk. On the next play, Chris Conley caught a 17-yard pass to move into scoring territory.
"You're not going to keep a team from doing anything the whole game. It's just all going back and forth, going toe-to-toe with guys," safety Jonathan Owens said. "It's an NFL game. Fans love to watch 'em but these are the ones that hurt the most to lose, the close ones. Just gotta go into the offseason and remember this feeling."
Green Bay tackled well at times but misses also contributed to the few explosive plays the 49ers got. Pro Bowl tight end George Kittle had two 32-yard receptions, including one that went for a second-quarter TD, while McCaffrey broke free of several tackles on a 39-yard TD run in the third quarter.
Check out photos from the NFC Divisional playoff matchup between the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024.
The Packers had several explosive plays of their own. Romeo Doubs had four catches for 83 yards while first-year receiver Bo Melton snagged a wide-open 19-yard touchdown to grab a 13-7 lead in the third quarter.
Even after McCaffrey's first TD, the Packers answered back with a 73-yard Nixon kickoff return and eventual 2-yard TD pass to tight end Tucker Kraft. However, the lead wouldn't last, and the late takeaways were enough for the 49ers to outlast Green Bay in the fourth quarter.
It was a bitter ending to a triumphant season for the Packers, who were the youngest team to win a playoff game since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970.
"We've got to have a championship offseason, so everything rolls into the season," linebacker Preston Smith said. "Coming into this next season, we've got to focus on the things that we can improve on, make sure that our weaknesses are our strengths, and we improve on the things we're good at."
For the veterans on the team, however, the most difficult part of the loss was the fact Saturday represented the third time San Francisco has eliminated the Packers over the past five years.
The 49ers beat Green Bay 37-20 in the 2019 NFC title game at Levi's Stadium before upsetting the top-seeded Packers 13-10 at Lambeau Field two years ago in the divisional round.
"It definitely hurts," running back Aaron Jones said. "Just to even get to the second season is hard. We won that first game and coming in, we're up, you want to win that game. It's tough. San Francisco, this is what? The third time they've knocked us out. Kind of bitter about that, as well, but we'll be better for it. Come back and hopefully we see them next year in the playoffs."
