The San Francisco 49ers were named after the gold rush out west in 1849 and on January 19 of 2020 there was another rush with football players wearing red and gold.
The 49ers buried the Green Bay Packers 37-20 at Levi’s Stadium to win the National Football Conference championship and earn the right to meet the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV in Miami, Florida in two weeks. The Chiefs took the AFC title by beating the Tennessee Titans 35-24 earlier in the day at Arrowhead Stadium.
San Francisco piled up a mind-boggling 285 yards rushing with 220 coming on 29 carries from an undrafted free agent from Purdue playing for his 7th NFL team in five years. Raheem Mostert put on a playoff record smashing performance accounting for all four of the 49er touchdowns. The ground game was so dominant, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo needed to throw only 8 passes, completing six.
Mostert scored on a 36 yard burst in the first quarter, he added TD runs of 9 and 18 yards in the second as San Francisco built an insurmountable 27-0 halftime lead. He capped his night with a 22 yard touchdown in the third quarter that answered Green Bay’s first tally of the contest, making it a 34-7 blowout.
Head Coach Kyle Shanahan attacked the Packer defensive flanks, often deploying fullback Kyle Juszczyk and tight end George Kittle in formation together and with the offensive line, created gaping holes on run after run. Mostert gained over 100 yards BEFORE contact by Packer defenders. They were made to look defenseless.
On the offensive side, the same issues that bogged down the unit in the 37-8 loss here in November resurfaced. On the opening series, a third and 3 swing pass to Jamaal Williams gained only two yards. Already down 7-0, the next series was thwarted by a Nick Bosa sack of Aaron Rodgers for 13 yards. Richies James Jr. then scampered 26 yards with a punt return to set up the first of three field goals from Robbie Gould who connected from 54 yards out.
Rodgers got the ball knocked out of his hands on the next third down but Billy Turner recovered. J.K. Scott then shanked a punt for 23 yards which led to Mostert’s second scoring run.
The offense finally managed a drive into 49er territory but on the 25 yard line, center Corey Linsley never got the snap to Rodgers and Brenston Buckner recovered to take points off the board. A 34 yard run by Mostert got Gould into position for a 27 yard kick making the score 20-0.
Tyler Ervin bobbled the next kickoff and was pinned down at the 8 and four snaps later, Rodgers was intercepted by Emmanuel Moseley when the pass for Geronimo Allison was thrown behind him.
Another gaping hole allowed Mostert to score from the 18 and the Niners were already making travel plans to Miami up 27-0 by halftime.
The offense finally found some rhythm in the third quarter, driving 75 yards in 11 plays with Aaron Jones going in untouched on a 9 yard screen pass. Jimmy Graham got behind the defense and almost scored from 43 yards out but was ruled down at the one on replay but Jones crashed in for his single season franchise record 23rd touchdown of the year. A two point conversion missed when Davante Adams couldn’t pull in Rodgers’ sideline throw.
San Francisco recovered Mason Crosby’s onside kick but the defense forced a punt and Rodgers hit Adams behind Richard Sherman for a 65 yard bomb. Adams would finish with 9 receptions for 138 yards. Rookie tight end Jace Sternberger made a sliding catch on an 8 yard throw for his first pro touchdown pulling Green Bay to within 34-20 with 8:13 still to play.
But the Niners kept pounding the rock and Gould would add a 42 yard field goal after a 4:42 march to finish the scoring.
A desperation heave downfield for Adams was picked off by Packer nemesis Richard Sherman in the final two minutes and the party was on, San Francisco was headed to their 7th Super Bowl in search of their 6th Vince Lombardi trophy.
Rodgers would finish with 326 yards passing hitting 31 of 39 with two scores but two interceptions for a passer rating of 97.2
Matt LaFleur’s rookie season as Head Coach of the Packers, successful in so many ways, came to a dispiriting loss but he was gracious in defeat.
(Audio: Matt LaFleur)
Injuries thinned the embarrassed defense as Adrian Amos (pectoral) and Jaire Alexander (thumb) couldn’t finish the game. The unit held a players only meeting after the regular season game in Santa Clara to clear the air over allowing so many explosive plays through the first two months of the year. Just when it looked like they had the issue under control, they reared a very ugly head again in the game that mattered the most.
The Packers are now 3-5 in NFC title game appearances having lost three in a row on the road since 2014, the epic collapse at Seattle, the Atlanta aerial circus in 2016 and now the San Francisco gold rush which has given them a shot at prospecting the sterling silver Vince Lombardi trophy in two weeks.
