Quick Takes: 49ers 45, Packers 31

The Green Bay Packers lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Divisional Round Saturday night, 45-31. Here are our quick takes.

The San Francisco 49ers (12-4-1) dealt the Green Bay Packers (12-6) a decisive defeat in the NFC Divisional Round, sending Green Bay out of the playoffs with a 45-31 humbling in San Francisco Saturday night.

It was over when...

Frank Gore bowled over the Packers defense at the goal line on the first play of the fourth quarter, putting the 49ers into the cockpit of a 14-point lead while also completely demoralizing a defense that was exploited from start to finish. The second half was all San Francisco.

Game Balls

  • WR James Jones: The search for game balls might start and end with Jones, who caught four passes for 87 yards and a touchdown.
  • CB Sam Shields: A first quarter pick-six was more of a gift than a fantastic play from Shields. But giving Green Bay a 7-0 lead early gave the Packers the necessary platform for pulling off a road upset.

Key Stats

The 49ers rushed for 325 yards, including a playoff record 181 from quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Frank Gore rushed for 119...Michael Crabtree was a thorn in the Packers' side for most of Saturday night. The former first-round pick caught nine passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns...The 49ers racked up 581 total yards of offense, the most ever allowed by the Packers in a playoff game...San Francisco had 29 first downs and finished 8-of-13 on third downs...Time of possession was a clear victory for the 49ers, who controlled the clock for 37:47...Kaepernick accumulated 444 yards of total offense...The Packers lost the turnover battle, 2-1...Aaron Rodgers finished 26-of-39 for 257 yards, two touchdowns and a punt interception...Greg Jennings caught a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter of what could be his final game in a Packers' uniform.

Other Notes

--The score stayed close through 40 or so minutes, but the better team on this night was never in question. The 49ers beat the Packers on offense, defense and special teams, and hammered home the win with a dominating second half worthy of a Super Bowl champion.

--Any time you give up 300 or more rushing yards in a playoff game, a win isn't likely to be a conceivable result.

--Dom Capers has never been as throughly embarrassed on a national stage as he was Saturday night. No Packers defense in the Capers era—even in Arizona in 2010—has looked as completely incapable of executing and stopping an opposing offense as the one in San Francisco. Without over-reacting to such an awful performance, it's probably time to have a discussion about the removal of Capers as the defensive coordinator.

--A promising season with 12 total wins ends with a decisive loss at the hands of the NFC's elite. Injuries on both sides of the football made the Packers no match for a complete football team on the road. The gap between Green Bay and San Francisco is sizable.

--Free agency begins in early March. The 2013 NFL draft begins on Thursday, April 25.

Zach Kruse is a 24-year-old sports writer who contributes to Cheesehead TV, Bleacher Report and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He also covers prep sports for the Dunn Co. News. You can reach him on Twitter @zachkruse2 or by email at [email protected].

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Comments (38)

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Norman's picture

January 12, 2013 at 11:29 pm

As much as this stings, I'd rather be the Pack than the Broncos. To lose a home playoff game you had well in hand because of Jarret Bush-type coverage and getting beat deep with 30 seconds left, well I don't think there's any experience in sports worse than that.

Okay, maybe getting knocked out by Buster Douglas is worse.

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Barutan Seijin's picture

January 12, 2013 at 11:57 pm

Six of one, half a dozen of the other. At least Denver was in the game until the final FG.

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paxbak's picture

January 13, 2013 at 01:14 pm

How about going 15 - 1 and then getting embarrassed at home in the playoffs.

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Fish/Crane's picture

January 14, 2013 at 06:21 pm

Buster Douglas was form...Tyson illusion..

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D B H's picture

January 12, 2013 at 11:38 pm

Count me in on the bandwagon - this team needs a new d-cord

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kennypayne's picture

January 12, 2013 at 11:49 pm

I hope we spend the first 6 picks on D again in 2013 and then let Dom do his magic -- he is the wizard. If at first you don't succeed, keep beating your head against the wall.

Oh, and please, please don't sign any free agents. Look at the 49ers, they would be so much better if they had not signed Justin Smith, Carlos Rogers, and Donte Whitner as free agents to play on on that D.

PS the NIners have 14 draft picks next year and likely will get more when they trade Alex Smith. Methinks we may be seeing them for years to come in NFC Championship games.

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Mark in the montain's picture

January 13, 2013 at 08:22 am

Sounds historic. Packers vs. 49ers.

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some guy's picture

January 13, 2013 at 08:50 am

Let's not go nuts. 6 of those picks are sixth- or seventh-rounders. 3 of them are projected compensatory picks that may not pan out as predicted. Definitely a good position to be in but you generally don't build a dynasty on special teamers and reach projects.

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jeremy's picture

January 12, 2013 at 11:51 pm

Capers has to go.

How he can have a playbook with thousands of plays but refuse to make adjustments is beyond me.

How that huge playbook confuses the Packers players more than there opponents is beyond me.

How the defense was totally unprepared for the read-option plays we all knew were coming is beyond me.

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pooch's picture

January 12, 2013 at 11:56 pm

We need to go back to 4-3 defense and draft a mean mfer at dt cause Pickett getting old.Then draft a mean s.o.b middle linebacker.Put Bishop and matthew at outside linebacker and Perry and Neal at ends.Then draft some hogs in offensive line.

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Michael from Winnipeg's picture

January 12, 2013 at 11:58 pm

Matthews in coverage?

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Barutan Seijin's picture

January 13, 2013 at 12:01 am

But then why was the defense on the field the whole game? They couldn't stop the Niners, true, but the offense didn't do its job either. Not sure they can afford to go all defense in the draft.

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49er Fan's picture

January 13, 2013 at 02:54 am

I think the Packers offense did their job. When you put up 31 points in a game that should equal a win. I put blame for the Packers loss squarely on the defense.
Better luck next season!

p.s. Go Niners! :P

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MarkinMadison's picture

January 13, 2013 at 06:59 am

Agree. The defense was on the field for 2/3 of the first half. Those guys had to be gassed. Offense was not producing. The fact that they were down by only 3 at the half was a bit of luck. And if you want a DL who is dominant, large bodied, and who does not have a significant injury history then you better be in the top 10. Look at the Lions - lots of great DL because they have been at the bottom of the league for so long. The 3-4 can work (NE, 49ers) and in part it works because it is easier to find great LBs in the later rounds than great DL.

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some guy's picture

January 13, 2013 at 09:02 am

"(NE, 49ers)"

NE, 49ers, (2010) Packers, Texans, Cardinals, Ravens, Jets, Steelers, Chiefs...

Someone send this pooch fellow a memo: half the league plays a 3-4, including many of the top defenses, and it isn't because it's some inherently flawed scheme that coaches only run because they're idiots.

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some guy's picture

January 13, 2013 at 08:57 am

Yeah you're right, 3-4 defenses are automatically weak pushovers who roll over for power teams. They can't stop a thing. That must be why the 49ers defense sucks so badly amirite?

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pooch's picture

January 13, 2013 at 12:01 am

Walden contain? Hawk spy qb?

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JimTalkBox's picture

January 13, 2013 at 12:38 am

Really disappointed with the offensive playcalling and the defense looked completely unprepared.

I hate to agree with someone like Deion Sanders, but as he put it (paraphrasing), "The Packers' defense has too much talent to play this poorly, and at that point you have to start looking at the scheme."

The offense tries to go for too many home-runs (especially on 3rd down) and gives up on the run way too quickly. They also under-utilize players like Cobb, or woefully mis-use them.

This team is also TOO FINESSE for my liking. 2 years in a row where they were ousted by a PHYSICAL team. You don't usually win games in January without PHYSICAL TOUGHNESS. Lombardi must be rolling in his grave about now...

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FITZCORE 1252'S EVO's picture

January 13, 2013 at 03:28 am

Capers shouldn't have been allowed on the team plane home, let alone keep his job.

In the first half I saw Ross in on Offense quite a bit and nothing from Cobb, I wondered if he was really sick, or got hurt... Neither.. MM just decided to leave him out of the gameplan. Head scratcher.

Kaepernick running. I posted during the week that's what worried me most. Apparently, Dom was not concerned. How the hell do they not come better prepared for that. Unreal.

Eff it. What draft pick do we have?

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Sub's picture

January 13, 2013 at 07:04 am

This is a game of inches, just a general a feeling I got from watching key players all game, I think the the Flu had more to deal with the Packers loss, they just looked slow, example Clay Mathews, could not beat a one arm tackle.

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cincipackfan's picture

January 13, 2013 at 08:31 am

Packers build a 'fast, dome team' in one of the harshest environments in the NFL: ????? there is a huge irony in that

once again, Pack abandons the run while the game is still close

this crew seems to place a very lo value on good O-Linemen and continues to plug holes from the street, so we can carry tons of precious receivers

Capers has had ONE good year with a top-10 defense. the rest, we set bad records (MOST YARDS GIVEN UP, ETC ETC)

in the most macho business (legal business, that is) there is, our D is 'soft.' That has to hurt to hear. but it hasn't seemed to help any.

anybody notice that on a key 3rd down play, rogers rolls out to the left, easily could have run for the 3 yards needed, but threw deep and missed. story of the season right there. i think we had just gone down by 14 an had to have 7. that was my key 'it-was-over-when' play of the game.

i know it would have been a tough game to win, but i started coming unglued when i saw how un-ready our defense was. i, too, am very fearful that the window is closing, if not closed already. '85 Bears were built to last forever, young, strong. Never got back. they showed up in a lot of commercials though...sound familiar?

random thoughts from my breakfast table.

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calipackfan's picture

January 13, 2013 at 08:38 am

A lot of gay people are happy today freaking San Francisco.

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WisconsInExile's picture

January 13, 2013 at 08:57 am

That's a tautology.

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some guy's picture

January 13, 2013 at 09:06 am

What kind of idiotic crap is this? What does anyone's sexuality have to do with the fact that our team got stomped? Take this garbage to PFT where it belongs.

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Point Packer's picture

January 13, 2013 at 12:10 pm

Dumbest comment of the year. And that's saying a lot.

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PackerPete's picture

January 13, 2013 at 10:27 am

Everybody here is bashing Dom Capers, and he certainly deserves his share of blame. But, what about the Offense? Did we actually have a game plan? In fact, if I look back at the past few times when we were kicked out of the playoffs, did we have any game plan at all? Leaving out Cobb in the 1st half completely and playing Ross extensively is downright foolish. Harris played relatively well in the 1st half, and in the 2nd half didn't even get onto the field for more than 3 or 4 snaps. Let's face it people, what we have here is not a lack of talent, but a lack of coaching, game planning, and ability to adjust at halftime. I really don't understand the McCarthy love-fest on TV, since the guy clearly is overmatched, frequently outcoached, and in general should be shown the door just as much as Dom Capers. And this is my opinion not based on last night, but based on the past 2 years.

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rigitdigit's picture

January 13, 2013 at 11:00 am

Pete has a valid point. Why would the Pack not open the playbook? Mike does do some bone shead stuff. 4th and 4...shoulda went for. What did we have to loose at that point. I do think the guy we are missing is coaching in Miami.

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Ruppert's picture

January 13, 2013 at 10:37 am

We needed better players in our front 7 last night, no matter what scheme we run or who the DC is.

Injuries factored in. We sure could've used Perry, Worthy, Bishop, and DJ Smith.

The 34 defense is built around the LBs. Our LB corps, overall, is not good. CM3 is a beast. But aside from him, we could and should be getting much, much better performance from every single ILB and OLB.

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Point Packer's picture

January 13, 2013 at 12:13 pm

Erik Walend plays hard. But his is not a starter. Brad Jones had a good game yesterday, but he's not a starter either. AJ Hawk whore his super secret invisibility cloak again last night.

That unit needs to be upgraded. Luckily, it will with Bishop and Perry theoretically coming back.

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pooch's picture

January 13, 2013 at 04:12 pm

Worthy and Smith would have made no difference,jury out on Perry,Bishop major upgrade over Hawk

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Derek's picture

January 13, 2013 at 11:49 am

Agree on capers. He couldn't plan anything to slow down SF. Time for new younger thinking. Also time for more athletic MLBs and for Tramon williams to earn a job. Not physical enough on D this year.

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TJ's picture

January 13, 2013 at 11:57 am

Capers is only a "part" of the overall issue. True, he was woefully UN-prepared for Kaper-dude and that was the start of the end. The fact that our secondary couldn't tackle a steak sandwich is 3/4 of the problem! Out of position; going for the big play; too little hustle; etc...etc... and let's not forget AR was the most sacked QB in the league this year ... we need some protection and we need it now!

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Pack12's picture

January 13, 2013 at 12:12 pm

Looking at the game last night it was pretty apparent that San Francisco is simply a bigger, stronger and physical team. The 49ers have a balance attack and the offensive line dominates making the run game a big part of their offense. The Packers have to start building both their offensive and defensive lines with bigger, stronger players otherwise they will continue getting pushed around. The Packers also have to make a better commitment to the run and that starts with the head coach. I don't sense that McCarthy has the patience to make the run work. It all falls on Rodgers right now and when you have a one dimensional offense it is a lot easier for the defense to do its job. They also need to build a more athletic line backing corps, especially in the middle. As far as Capers goes, it is always easy to blame the coach. I don't care how many x's and o's you draw the players need to execute. I'm not saying that Capers does not deserve some of the fault but he is an easy target the day after the loss.

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paxbak's picture

January 13, 2013 at 01:41 pm

Fense needs tWe won the down and distance battle on both sides of the ball. Our offense had third and short for the most part and they had third and long. The difference was on what happened on those plays. Our offense does not consistently get first Downs and they were able to convert third and long. They were 7for9 in the first half. That was game as our defense was spent in the second half. In addition, our offense can't stay on the missing in short 3rd downs. That needs to be the focus next year. The

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Hands's picture

January 13, 2013 at 03:50 pm

Recorded the game and watched the first half.....
Three times Rodgers has JJ isolated on a lb., he never threw it or looked in his direction. That was a sample of the symptom of the off decline.
The three Ws (Walden, Williams, Woodson) seem to have very bad game and Hawk disappeared.
That was the first half. No need to watch anymore.
Also saw where the Packer s were the most injured team in NFL. Probability it won't happen again.

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Ken's picture

January 14, 2013 at 01:20 pm

I can't agree that the gap is sizeable. Their numbers were gaudy sure, but the game was tied midway thru the 3rd quarter and the Packers had turned the ball over twice.

Not to make excuses, but the Niners had the extra week of rest and were playing at home. This game was a tall order.

There is room for improvment to be sure, but don't sell this team short.

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xhawg52's picture

January 14, 2013 at 07:21 pm

We had a week off to prepare last year and lost (at home). So, some of the selling short is warranted.

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GBPDAN's picture

January 14, 2013 at 08:09 pm

If this team had New Englands coaching staff ,they would have had a better chance at a title. Would of had at least the 2 seed a 1st rd bye, also. SF would of had to play in the WC round , would of be more worn down and the pack would have been fresh and at home. SF would not of had 2 weeks to game plan us and the pack would of had an elite coaching staff to game plan for the 9ers.

With a better coaching staff, the pack would of had better game planning, in game decision making and in game adjustments. This would have lead to a 13-3 record and a 1st rd bye. I like our coaching staff for developing players and motivation. Dont like MM and DC for game planning and adjusting.

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