For most of Saturday’s NFL playoff game between the Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers, it seemed that Green Bay would be going to the next round and San Francisco would be going home.
But as the clock wound down, the 49ers wound up on top, sealing the victory when one of Packers quarterback Jordan Love’s few mistakes for the night ended up in the arms of San Francisco’s Dre Greenlaw.
“We feel exhausted,” San Francisco linebacker Fred Warner said, according to ESPN. “That took everything. It took everyone. We knew it’d be a close game. That’s a heck of a team. They give us everything. This is the playoffs. We knew we had to find a way to win no matter what.”
INT NO. 2 FROM DRE GREENLAW!
📺: #GBvsSF on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/yDUx5ZutVa pic.twitter.com/m2bUwvM8TK— NFL (@NFL) January 21, 2024
“We’re built for those moments,” running back Christian McCaffrey said.
“We didn’t play well at all but still had a chance at the end. To go out there and execute is a sign of a high character team,” he said.
McCaffery scored his second touchdown of the game with 1:07 to play after a 69-yard drive.
INT NO. 2 FROM DRE GREENLAW!
📺: #GBvsSF on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/yDUx5ZutVa pic.twitter.com/m2bUwvM8TK— NFL (@NFL) January 21, 2024
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San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy, who started slowly, was 6 for 7 for 47 yards in the final drive. Despite accuracy issues at the start of the game, he finished with 252 yards passing.
“Obviously it’s four quarters for a reason, you know? So the way I started, it’s like, ‘Man, I’ve got to be better, got to play efficient football,’” Purdy said. “But when it comes down to it, with the season on the line, you’ve got to make it happen for your boys around you.”
“It’s tough,” Love said. “Very tough. We had an opportunity to win that game and didn’t capitalize on it. It’s a tough way to end the season.”
Nick Bosa left it all on the field pic.twitter.com/DtxeVHVzAe
— NFL (@NFL) January 21, 2024
Green Bay let several opportunities slip through the team’s fingers.
Three times in the first half, Green Bay marched down into the red zone, but only ended up with two field goals for its work.
As the game wound down, rookie Green Bay kick Anders Carlson missed a 41-yard field goal that could have upped Green Bay’s lead to 24-17 at the time, meaning that even a 49ers touchdown would have resulted in a tie.
Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur was quoted as saying “Every time he goes out there, I just pray,” according to Bleacher Report.
