Green Bay Packers v. 49ers: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

For the final time this season, we have the good, the bad, and a whole lot of ugly from the Green Bay Packers’ loss in the NFC Championship game.

In our predictions article prior to the game, I did pick San Francisco to beat the Green Bay Packers, however, I didn’t expect it to be another ugly performance like we saw in Week 12. We all knew the Niners were the more talented team and for Green Bay to have a chance to win, it was going to take by far their best game of the year. Instead we saw the opposite.

There were too many mistakes which included false starts, missed tackles, turnovers and more. Not to mention that a huge key to the game was slowing the 49ers’ running game and putting the ball in Jimmy Garoppolo’s hands, but we all saw how that turned out. And the result was another humiliating loss to San Francisco.

So for the final time this season, as always, I have the good, the bad, and the ugly from the Green Bay Packers’ lack-luster performance against the Niners.

The Good

The 2019 season

Sure I could talk about Davante Adams’ final numbers but a lot of that came in the second half when the game was already out of reach. So instead I’ll reflect on the 2019 season.

Just one year ago, Green Bay was coming off their second straight season where they missed the playoffs and were a few weeks removed from hiring their new head coach, Matt LaFluer. At that time I can’t imagine there many – if any – out there who would have predicted this type of season for Green Bay.

As you all know they finished 13-3 overall, won the NFC North which included a 6-0 record against divisional opponents, secured a first-round bye, and of course, made it the NFC Championship game. We also saw breakout seasons from Aaron Jones, Allen Lazard, Kevin King, Chandon Sullivan, and more.

Meanwhile, the free agent signings of Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith, Adrian Amos, and Billy Turner exceeded all expectations and Green Bay had huge contributions from two of their rookies, Elgton Jenkins and Darnell Savage. And they did all of this in a new system with a first year head coach.

Yes, their performance in the NFC Championship game was disappointing, but everything considered this was a successful 2019 season. And there is a lot to be excited about as we begin to turn our focus to 2020.

The Bad

Run defense

I mentioned it above, but slowing the 49ers’ running game was a huge key for the Green Bay Packers. This would have put the ball in Jimmy Garoppolo’s hands and allowed that stout Packer pass-rush to put pressure on him just as they have done all season long. And there’s a good possibility that Garoppolo would have given Green Bay an interception opportunity or two, just as he has often done this season.

Of course, this was a tall task from the start given how effective the Niners have been at running the ball this season, but even so, the performance from Green Bay was horrendous. Raheem Mostert gashed this defense in what ended up being a career day as he rushed for 220 yards on a whopping 7.6 yards per carry with four touchdowns.

Often times Mostert wasn’t even touched until he was four or five yards past the line of scrimmage as he had huge holes to run through. One of the more disappointing parts of this is that everyone knew that San Francisco was going to run the ball, however, Mike Pettine seemed reluctant at times to sell out and stop it, and what adjustments he did make, did very little.

In the end, Garoppolo would only have eight pass attempts has the 49ers road Mostert to victory. The defense came a long ways this season but it’s clear that they still need some help in the middle of their defense at IDL and ILB to go along side of Kenny Clark.

The Ugly

The Green Bay Packers

In a number of areas this was an improved Green Bay Packers team going into the NFC Championship game than what the Niners had last seen in Week 12. However, the performance and overall domination by San Francisco was pretty similar.

Overall this Packers team was outmatched but their sloppy play from the start never even gave them a chance to keep this game close. As I already covered, the defense did nothing against the run and on top it there were just too many missed tackles. Meanwhile on offense, false starts and turnovers killed any hopes that they had of putting scoring drives together.

In the previous weeks, Matt LaFleur’s play-calling had been excellent but what he drew up against the Niners didn’t look much different from what he had dialed-up in Week 12. And Kyle Shanahan just simply took it to Mike Pettine, daring him to stop the run.

There’s no way to sugarcoat it, the Packers were once again embarrassed. From coaching to the play on the field, the Niners were exponentially better in every facet of the game. So while the Packers have come a long way in just one year, we also saw how far they still have to go if they want to win a Super Bowl.