Christian McCaffrey rushed for two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 1:07 left, and the San Francisco 49ers held on to beat the Green Bay Packers 24-21 in an NFC divisional round playoff matchup on Saturday night in Santa Clara, Calif.
Brock Purdy completed 23 of 39 passes for 252 yards and a touchdown for the 49ers, who advanced to the NFC Championship Game for the third season in a row. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw picked off two passes, including one in the final minute to seal the win.
“Being able to play (Saturday), he’s been battling these two weeks trying to get back and get healthy for the game, he inspires the heck out of all of us,” Niners coach Kyle Shanahan said of Greenlaw. “The way he runs, the way he hits, for him to make those plays, catching the ball when they send both to him.
“We’ll put him on offense if he really wants to run with the ball that bad. He could definitely get down a lot sooner.”
San Francisco will host the winner of Sunday’s showdown between the host Detroit Lions and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the opportunity to advance to the Super Bowl.
Jordan Love completed 21 of 34 passes for 194 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for Green Bay. Aaron Jones had 18 carries for 108 yards.
“Well, I think any time there’s a finality to the season, it’s always tough unless you’re the last team standing,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “For us to lose this game certainly stings, and I’m sure it’s going to sting for a long time.”
The high-stakes contest featured three lead changes in the third quarter.
The Packers grabbed a 13-7 lead on a 19-yard pass from Love to Bo Melton with 9:27 to go in the quarter.
Less than two minutes later, the 49ers answered to grab a 14-13 lead. McCaffrey took a handoff, evaded a would-be tackler and sprinted up the middle of the field for a 39-yard touchdown.
The back-and-forth battle continued as the Packers scored on the next possession. Eric Wilson recovered a fumble on a 73-yard kickoff return by Keisan Nixon, setting the Packers up at the Niners 20.
Four plays later, Love found Tucker Kraft open near the front right pylon for a 2-yard touchdown. Love then connected with Jones for a two-point conversion for a 21-14 Packers lead with 5:23 left in the third.
The 49ers pulled within 21-17 on a 52-yard field goal by Jake Moody with 14:56 remaining in the game.
The Packers tried to grab a seven-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, but Anders Carlson missed a 41-yard field-goal attempt with 6:18 to go.
“A lot of young kickers in this league go through growing pains, and it’ll get magnified because of the magnitude of this game and because of the spot, when it happened,” LaFleur said. “That’s just part of it.”
Green Bay had the only score of the first quarter with a 29-yard field goal by Carlson.
The 49ers grabbed a 7-3 lead with 8:42 remaining in the second when Purdy connected with George Kittle for a 32-yard touchdown. Carlson hit again from 29 yards to pull Green Bay within 7-6 before halftime.
San Francisco star wideout Deebo Samuel exited in the first half because of a shoulder injury and was later ruled out. Samuel, who finished with two catches for 24 yards, was evaluated after a helmet-to-helmet hit in the first half.
“We didn’t play well at all but still had a chance at the end,” McCaffrey said. “To go out there and execute is a sign of a high character team.”
–Field Level Media
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