It’s the time of the NFL season where how you win does not matter, so long as you win.
Still, the way in which the 49ers came from behind to upset the NFL-best Packers 13-10 on Saturday night in snowy, bitter cold Green Bay set all sorts of history — including reaching a conference championship game for a record 17th time.
Most notable was the special teams effort, where Jimmie Ward blocked a field goal at the end of the first half (his first career blocked field goal), then Jordan Willis blocked a punt (also his first career blocked punt) midway through the fourth quarter that Talanoa Hufanga recovered and returned six yards for a touchdown. It’s the first blocked punt returned for a touchdown in 49ers postseason history.
San Francisco is also just the third team in NFL history to block a field goal and a punt in the same playoff game. The other two teams were the 1976 Vikings, who did it in the NFC Championship Game to beat the Rams, and the 1988 Bills, who used the blocks to beat the Houston Oilers in the AFC divisional round.
The Niners are just the fourth team since 2000 to win a playoff game without scoring an offensive touchdown, and 13 points in the fewest points San Francisco’s scored in a postseason win in franchise history (the team’s previous low: 14, in a home shutout of the Eagles back in 1996).
The win also continues the ownership that the 49ers have over Aaron Rodgers, the Packers quarterback who the 49ers passed on choosing first overall in the 2005 NFL Draft. The former Cal quarterback is now 0-4 in the playoffs against San Francisco, which is the most playoff losses against a single opponent without a win by a starting quarterback since 1950, according to ESPN.
And there’s one stat to keep an eye on in next week’s NFC Championship. After hitting two field goals, including the walk-off 45-yarder, Robbie Gould remains perfect in his postseason career, going 20 for 20 on kicks. He only trails Mason Crosby (23) and Stephen Gostkowski (22) for longest streaks of consecutive made field goals in NFL history.
Not a bad way to finish a frigid night.
Source: www.mercurynews.com