SANTA CLARA, California – You want to know who kept Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday, when time is running out, the rain is pouring, Deebo Samuel is injured and the Green Bay Packers are just a play or two away from A big surprise in the playoffs?
Do you want to know who assigned the responsibility and called on the 49ers to fight during their long struggles? Who set all the possible consequences? That would be Purdy and everyone else on the 49ers, who arrived here with one of their most baffling performances of the season.
They got the ball back with 6:13 left in the game after the Packers missed a field goal. They are four points behind the 49ers. They needed to land. And they knew this was probably their last realistic chance to figure out how to avoid a devastating loss in this qualifying match. Then, once the offense came to the huddle, Trent Williams gave a short speech.
«I just told you that, with six minutes left in the game, this could be the last time we receive the ball. “If we don’t do something about it, this could be the last time we are together in this group.” Williams recalled, “So, whatever you have, bring it. Take it to the next play, take it to the next play, and then let the rest take care of itself.
Everyone felt it. The 49ers were at Levi’s Stadium, the NFC favorite to make the Super Bowl, and they felt just that. What happened next: Purdy got out of his mistime and started completing passes, Brandon Aiyuk made a big catch on third down, Purdy ran inside the Packers’ 10-yard line and finally Christian McCaffrey ran for a 6-yard touchdown that put The 49ers finally took the lead. Dre Greenlaw then sealed the 49ers’ 24-21 victory by intercepting Jordan Love’s reckless crossing move in the final minute.
But yeah, the 49ers felt it. And no one felt it more than Purdy. About an hour into the game, you could see they were still feeling it: all the adrenaline, all the disappointment of playing so randomly in such an important game, all the importance and all the relief. The 49ers saw their playoff lives flash before their eyes on Saturday… and thanks to that final series of plays, they’re still alive with a spot in the NFC Championship game at Levi’s on Jan. 28, facing the winner of the Lions. -Buccaneers game on Sunday.
Dre Greenlaw runs with the ball after intercepting a Green Bay pass in the fourth quarter to seal the 49ers’ victory (Godofredo A. Vasquez/Associated Press)
They live. They know a little more about themselves now than they did after all their easy wins this season. (But so do their opponents.)
“At some point, you’re in a bad situation and you have to find a way,” Purdy said. «It’s the last quarter, it’s the NFL. Obviously now we’re in the postseason. We were all like, OK, this is it. This is our season. For us to capitalize on that was big. For each one of us. «
“Obviously, for me as a midfielder, that’s good for confidence and all that. But we have a lot of good players on this team, a lot of players who make a difference. We have a great defense. For us, not finding a way, It’s not right. So to finally play a game like this and be successful was fantastic for all of us.
Nick Bosa clearly said that the 49ers need a game like this, noting that they lost all of their close games this regular season and won all of their blowouts. More than anyone, Purdy needed something like this. Of course, the 49ers never want to see Purdy flounder for more than three quarters like he did Saturday. The 49ers never want to be outscored like the Packers outscored them for most of this game.
But the 49ers also needed to see Purdy emerge from the struggle and find success. They needed him to be more than just a great runner. They needed him to get out of a hole and win that damn game, and he went 6-for-7 on that last drive, looking completely calm (“It was Brock, and he couldn’t say anything”), Williams said of that moment. . And he looks a lot like the guy who led the NFL in passer rating and broke the 49ers’ record for passing yards in a single season this season.
So what was going on in this game for Purdy before that? The rain certainly gave him some problems, in the same way that the wet weather in Cleveland earlier this season seemed to bother him. At times Saturday, Purdy wiped his right hand even as he returned to pass.
“He obviously had a glove on on the first trip,” Purdy said. «I was going out in a drizzle, so I took it off. He was trying to figure out what he wanted to do. I got a little tired of the gloves… Yes, there were times when I backed away when the ball was a little wet on the grass, which affected the accuracy and stuff a little bit. But that’s football. I have to be better than that.
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However, that won’t be a problem if the weather is dry next Sunday at Levi’s and it certainly won’t be a problem if the 49ers make it to the Super Bowl at Allegiant Indoor Stadium in Las Vegas in February.
Purdy also said the Packers defense did a good job of cutting off his deep options and forcing him to make his own checks. After that, Purdy spent most of the game rushing those checks, often due to poor completions. Additionally, although the Packers only recorded one sack in the game, the pass rush seemed to bother Purdy, altering his throwing lanes and causing him to move his feet while throwing, leading to some wild passes that the Packers could have easily hit. . I objected but I fell.
This could be a problem for the 49ers in the coming weeks, as Purdy also looked quite uncomfortable against the Ravens on Christmas, and the Ravens could very well be the AFC’s representative in the Super Bowl. But Purdy seemed to have resolved something in his head during that last trip; If they’re begging you to take the easy pass, and the easy pass can get you down the field, just do it. Don’t let past mistakes ruin you when it matters most.
“We had what we wanted right in front of us, so we have to start with a clean slate,” Purdy said. «You have to have a clean mind and not try to force anything. Accept what the defense gives you. Find a way, man.
On that final drive, Purdy completed short passes that were there and then made a crucial 17-yard run to Chris Conley. Their only failure of the series came when George Kittle, who had the 49ers’ best offensive performance, posting a 32-yard touchdown in the second quarter and 81 yards overall, dropped another short, which Purdy followed with a dart to Aiyuk. on third chance.
“The whole day was a little off,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. «But the boys stood firm. “Even second-and-six at the end, getting that touchdown gets us to third-and-six, and then British Airways made a great play to keep us on the field.”
Another possible reason for the 49ers’ bumpy offensive play: the two-week layoff, counting Week 18, when Purdy and several other top players missed the meaningless loss to the Rams last weekend.
“I don’t know, maybe it was,” Shanahan said. «It could have been rain, it could have been a good defense. But those are the things that need to be talked about. “We handled it the best we could.”
Purdy, who was 23 of 39 that day for 252 yards and 1 touchdown, for a passer rating of 86.7, wasn’t the only 49ers player who struggled in this game, of course. The defense battled back with some missteps and fouls against Love and his receivers and allowed a huge 53-yard touchdown run to Aaron Jones. The 49ers’ special teams also took a hit: The coverage unit allowed a 73-yard kickoff return to Keisean Nixon and Jake Moody had a 48-yard field goal attempt deflected at the line.
But the defense made Greenlaw’s interception to seal the game, in addition to another interception earlier, and stopped Green Bay in the red zone several times. Moody made up for his earlier mistake with a 52-yard touchdown reception early in the fourth quarter that pulled the 49ers within 21-17.
“Things weren’t perfect by any means,” Shanahan said. “I was very disappointed, but I am also very proud and proud that we are going to play another week.
Frankly, the 49ers played the type of playoff game that typically results in a team being eliminated. There would have been harsh criticism in the NFL if the 49ers and Purdy had lost this game. And the 49ers and Purdy knew all that, as time went on and they met in that meeting. There was a season for preservation. Now there may be two more games left to play.
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Dre Greenlaw didn’t go down, and neither did the 49ers thanks to him
(Imagen superior de Brooke Purdy: Theron W. Henderson/Getty Images)
2024-01-21 20:54:00
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