On Sunday, the Green Bay Packers traveled to Santa Clara, Calif., to try to defeat the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game and punch their ticket to Super Bowl LIV in Miami on Feb. 2, 2020. The 49ers, however, had a different agenda and they owned the field from the first kickoff until the very last possession despite the Packers’ effort to make a comeback and won the NFC Championship.
San Francisco received the ball first to start the game and they went three-and-out, unable to convert the opening drive into any points. After Green Bay also went scoreless in their first drive, the 49ers put the first points on the board in their next possession when Raheem Mostert rushed the ball for a 36-yard touchdown, giving San Francisco the seven-point lead with just under six minutes left in the first quarter.
Green Bay came up short in their second possession after rookie Nick Bosa sacked Aaron Rodgers on third-down, causing him to lose 13 yards and forcing J.K. Scott to punt on the fourth down. The first quarter came to an end during the next San Francisco possession and within seconds of the second quarter beginning, Gould put the ball through the posts from 54 yards out giving the 49ers a 10-point lead, 10-0.
GOOD AS GOULD ‼️@RobbieGould09 hits the 54-yard FG 🙌 #BeLegendary pic.twitter.com/RmIIEiwREI
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) January 20, 2020
In the Packers’ opening drive of the second quarter, Rodgers was sacked again, this time by K’waun Williams, and he fumbled, but Billy Turner recovered the ball, allowing Green Bay to avoid the turnover and going three-and-out.
San Francisco answered in the next possession with another rushing touchdown by Mostert, this time from nine yards out, and extended the lead to 17-0 with a little over nine minutes left in the first half. The Packers were unable to avoid a turnover after Rodgers fumbled the ball in their next drive and Deforest Buckner recovered the ball at the San Francisco 25-yard line, giving the 49ers the takeaway.
Defense is cookin! @DeForestBuckner recovers the fumble 💥#BeLegendary pic.twitter.com/9joEWYu7Sw
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) January 20, 2020
The 49ers capitalized in the drive following the fumble when Gould put another field goal up on the board from the 27-yard line, giving San Francisco a 20-point lead over the scoreless Packers. Unfortunately for Green Bay, Emmanuel Moseley intercepted a pass Aaron Rodgers intended for Geronimo Allison and took it for a nine-yard return, giving the 49ers another takeaway.
San Francisco took advantage of the turnover by putting another touchdown on the board when Mostert rushed the ball for a third score, this time from 18 yards out. The 49ers had a 27-point lead, shutting the Packers out heading to the locker room at halftime.
That's a HAT TRICK for @RMos_8Ball 😏
27-0 with 0:45 left in the first half. #BeLegendary pic.twitter.com/vFVebCOuot
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) January 20, 2020
The Packers started the second half of the game with possession of the ball and for the first time put points up on the board during their opening drive. Rodgers connected with Aaron Jones for the nine-yard touchdown which completed an 11-play drive and shaved just under six minutes off of the clock, making it 27-7. San Francisco also converted their opening drive into a touchdown as well after Mostert rushed again for the score, this time from 22 yards out to widen the gap back to 27 points.
The 49ers were on top, 34-13, ending the third quarter.
Green Bay opened up the final quarter of the game with another touchdown when Jones rushed the ball into the end zone for one yard. Instead of attempting the extra point, the Packers chose to attempt the two-point conversion and Rodgers passed the ball to Davante Adams, but it was a failed attempt and the score remained 34-13. The Packers scored their third touchdown in as many possessions in the next drive when Rodgers connected with Jace Sternberger for the eight-yard score, closing the lead to 14 points with 8:13 left to play.
San Francisco also scored in their final drive but only notched three points after 10 plays and nearly five minutes of play. Gould kicked the ball from 42 yards out and put it through the posts to further extend the lead with three-and-a-half minutes left to play, 37-20.
In the next possession, the Packers turned over the ball once more after Richard Sherman picked Rodgers’ pass, giving San Francisco a final takeaway. The 49ers let the time expire and punched their ticket to Super Bowl LIV with the 37-20 victory over the Packers.
The Super Bowl will take place on Feb. 2, 2020, in Miami, Fla. The big game will see the 49ers face the Kanas City Chiefs in their seventh Super Bowl appearance.
THE 49ERS ARE NFC CHAMPIONS ‼️ pic.twitter.com/rqTUfrVnVM
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) January 20, 2020
