The Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers battled for a spot in the NFC Championship Game on Saturday night in San Francisco. It was a great game and the 49ers took a narrow 24-21 victory. However, the Packers probably should have won this game. They are a seven seed and the 49ers are a one seed, so San Francisco was a heavy favorite, but the Packers had every chance to win at the end of the game and let it all go.
Entering the fourth quarter, the Packers led the 49ers 21-14, and by that point Green Bay had already lost two golden opportunities by throwing a couple of easy interceptions. They also had the ball in 49ers territory and a chance to make it a two-goal game, and Jordan Love threw the pick. Then, after the 49ers added a field goal to make it 21-17, Green Bay missed a field goal that would have made it 24-17. Had they advanced, the game would have been tied after San Francisco and the final touchdown. The opportunities were there and they were not taken advantage of.
“The Green Bay Packers, I think they beat the San Francisco 49ers in 58 minutes, but you have to play 60 minutes of perfect football to win first place,” Rob Gronkowski said after the game.
Rob Gronkowski is right. Overall, and there’s no doubt about it, the Packers looked the better team Saturday night. However, you can’t let good teams like the 49ers hang around, and that’s exactly what they did. Good teams make them pay, and the 49ers made the Packers pay..