Through three quarters, the San Francisco 49ers, in the eyes of many people, didn’t play well in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs versus the upstart Green Bay Packers. The Packers held a modest lead for much of the second half, and late in the third quarter, San Francisco found itself down 21-14 on its own home field.
With its Super Bowl hopes in real jeopardy, the team responded, getting a field goal from rookie kicker Jake Moody and a late go-ahead touchdown from star running back Christian McCaffrey, not to mention clutch play from quarterback Brock Purdy.
It wasn’t pretty, but it was effective enough for a 27-24 win and a trip to the NFC Championship Game.
On Fox Sports 1’s “Undisputed,” former 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman was actually impressed with his former team’s performance. He gave it a “10” in terms of grading its performance, mostly thanks to Purdy.
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Before the game ended, the Niners had never won a game when they were trailing entering the fourth quarter by at least seven points since Kyle Shanahan became their head coach in 2017. In fact, they had lost 30 consecutive such games under Shanahan.
But Purdy showed great poise and resourcefulness for the 49ers when he took over with 6:18 left down by four points on his team’s own 31-yard line. He completed six of seven pass attempts during that drive, and on the snap prior to McCaffrey’s touchdown, he ran for nine yards himself when he couldn’t find an open receiver to get to Green Bay’s six-yard line.
It was the type of clutch, come-from-behind performance some said Purdy needed to help prove that he’s a true franchise QB after all.
McCaffrey, who is the favorite to win the Offensive Player of the Year award, was the star of the game with 98 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on 17 carries.
Sometimes, a clutch, game-winning drive in an ugly game can make that game look pretty in retrospect.
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