The San Francisco 49ers took down the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game and will advance to their sixth Super Bowl in franchise history. Raheem Mostert ran wild against the Green Bay front seven while the defense locked down Aaron Rodgers all day long. The 49ers will face off against the Kansas City Chiefs, who are coming off an impressive victory of their own.
Raheem Mostert, San Francisco 49ers Beat Green Bay Packers, Advance to Super Bowl LIV
First Half
This game started off relatively simply. The 49ers started the game with the ball but went three-and-out on three straight rushing attempts. The Packers answered with a punt of their own, although they managed to get the ball to midfield. San Francisco took over at their own 11 but managed to move the ball 89 yards in just six plays for the score. Jimmy Garoppolo connected with Deebo Samuel two times for a combined 46 yards and Mostert capped off the drive with a 36-yard touchdown run.
Both sides remained quiet for the rest of the first quarter before all hell broke loose in the second. The 49ers scored a field goal on the first play of the second quarter and proceeded to score two touchdowns and a field goal on their next three drives. Rodgers, meanwhile, couldn’t get anything going offensively and threw a late interception to Emmanuel Moseley. This nightmare quarter of play gave the 49ers a 27-0 lead entering halftime.
Second Half
The Packers faced a dramatic deficit but refused to go quietly into the night. The Packers got the ball to start the half and Rodgers quickly led an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to put Green Bay on the board. Unfortunately for Green Bay, the 49ers answered with Raheem Mostert’s fourth touchdown of the game to make it a 34-7 game.
Rodgers wasn’t done yet, as the two-time MVP led yet another touchdown drive on the ensuing possession. The drive appeared to end with a 43-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Graham, but further review showed Graham was just short of the goal line. Ultimately it didn’t matter, as Aaron Jones dived in for the one-yard score on the very next play.
Green Bay finally forced a punt on San Francisco’s next possession and Rodgers got back to work. Facing a 3rd and 5 from his own 13, Rodgers uncorked a 65-yard bomb to Davante Adams. Adams had Richard Sherman beat for the big gain, and tight end Jace Sternberger scored the eight-yard touchdown to make it a 34-20 game with just over eight minutes to play.
With the game somewhat in doubt, the 49ers needed a long, clock-killing drive. San Francisco did what they needed to do, authoring a 10-play, 49-yard drive and killing 4 minutes and 42 seconds of clock. Robbie Gould kicked the field goal, making it a three-score game and essentially eliminating any chance of a Green Bay comeback.
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