49ers Rally Past Packers

Can you stand the rain?

Half back Christian McCaffrey found the end zone for the second time on a 6-yard run with just over a minute left in the game and the San Francisco 49ers finished off their first second-half comeback of the season to beat the ‘Cinderella Story’ Green Bay Packers by a field goal, 24-21, in an instant classic divisional-round playoff game on Saturday night. It was the tenth time in playoff history that these two storied franchises have gone head-to-head.

After spending the lion’s share of the regular season on top of the NFC, the Niners (13-5) needed to dig deep and find all the energy they could muster to do something they are not use to, coming from behind. However, a missed 41-yard field goal from Green Bay Packers kicker Anders Carlson opened the door for the 49ers. The duo of Brock Purdy and McCaffrey did what they had to do to squeak by on the last drive to send San Francisco to its third consecutive NFC championship game. The 49ers will host the winner of Sunday’s game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions next weekend for a coveted spot in Super Bowl LVIII.

Following a lack luster performance for the first three and a half quarters, Purdy joined the party when it mattered most. He was like a magician, going 6 for 7 for 47 yards on the win or go home drive, converting a third down to Brandon Aiyuk and then a 17-yarder to Chris Conley.

Due to the torrential downpour, Purdy struggled mightily when it came to gripping the ball, saying that he started the contest donning a glove on his right throwing hand but moments later discarded it because he was “fed up” with it.

“There were sometimes where I’m dropping back and the ball was a little wet from the grass and it sort of affected some accuracy and stuff,” Purdy said. “But that’s football, so I’ve got to be better in that area.”

McCaffrey finished it off with his run on third-and-short and the 49ers’ stingy defense held on from there, with Dre Greenlaw picking off Jordan Love for the second time to ice the 49ers’ fifth straight playoff win over the Packers (10-9).

“We needed a win like that,” defensive end Nick Bosa said. “We just haven’t come from behind in a while.”

The game was not without injuries. Packers right tackle Zach Tom exited in the third quarter to get checked for a head injury and did not return. Niners wide receiver Deebo Samuel injured his shoulder on the opening drive and missed most of the game.

Until the stretch run, none of it was what you would think of as picturesque, however, it did not have to be. It was what the fans watching from the stadium and at home wanted. Another trip to the Super Bowl will be up for grabs next week, and not a single person on San Francisco’s roster cares how they get there, so long as they punch their ticket.

“We just want to do everything we can to play our best because we feel we can win every game when we do that,” Kyle Shanahan said. “We don’t feel like we did that today, but we still found a way to win. … I thought that was as big of a mental challenge and just a character game as any game I’ve been a part of. … It was a gut check for everybody and couldn’t be more proud of the people in there and just how they persevered.”