GREEN BAY, Wis. — Robbie Gould’s kick sailed by the uprights, and as his San Francisco teammates, bundled in pink parkas, scampered onto the grass Saturday night time, the Green Bay Packers simply stood on their sideline. They had not misplaced all season at Lambeau Field, not in heat climate or temperate situations or the winter chill, however a sure finality had now descended amid the snowfall.
The 49ers ousted the top-seeded Packers from the playoffs, 13-10, on Gould’s 45-yard subject purpose as time expired. San Francisco, the sixth seed, advances to play at both the Los Angeles Rams or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in subsequent Sunday’s N.F.C. championship recreation.
Beyond ending Green Bay’s season, one which sparkled amid the parity of the N.F.L., San Francisco might need ended Aaron Rodgers’s marvelous profession in inexperienced and gold. Rodgers has not gained a Super Bowl in 11 years, shedding within the convention title recreation 4 instances, and he reconfigured his contract with Packers administration final summer season to permit him to change groups.
The query for Rodgers will likely be whether or not he needs to play someplace else. It is unlikely that one other staff will supply as full a roster as Green Bay’s, which was loaded on offense and protection — however not, because the Packers little question realized, on particular groups.
Green Bay scored on its opening drive, a 6-yard run by A.J. Dillon, however not once more till early within the fourth quarter, on a 33-yard subject purpose by Mason Crosby. At the tip of the primary half, Crosby had a field-goal try blocked. Then, late within the fourth quarter, Jordan Willis blitzed by the Green Bay line to dam Corey Bojorquez’s punt, which Talanoa Hufanga scooped up and returned 6 yards to tie the rating at 10-10.
That blocked punt got here just a few minutes after Rashan Gary, a disruptive power all recreation for Green Bay, stuffed Elijah Mitchell on fourth-and-1 from the Packers 19-yard line.
After the 49ers stopped Green Bay and Rodgers — who accomplished 20 of 29 passes for 225 yards — Jimmy Garoppolo drove San Francisco 44 yards in 9 performs to arrange Gould’s game-winning kick. It was San Francisco’s fourth consecutive playoff win over Green Bay, courting again to the 2011 season.
