The San Francisco 49ers were able to defeat the Green Bay Packers in their Divisional Round matchup 24-21. While they got the victory to advance, it was far from a perfect performance, as San Francisco was sloppy in some regard.
Had Packers’ defenders not dropped two balls, quarterback Brock Purdy would have had two interceptions in the game, which likely would have changed the outcome. Green Bay rookie kicker Anders Carlson missing a kick in the fourth quarter coupled with two interceptions from Jordan Love also aided San Francisco in the victory.
There were more than a few instances had things gone the other way, it likely would be the 49ers at home this weekend, not the Packers. But, San Francisco won and will now host the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship Game.
NFL NEWS & RUMORS: Steve Young, Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers Updates
What will it take for them to advance to Super Bowl 58 and face off against either the Baltimore Ravens or Kansas City Chiefs? In the opinion of former 49ers star Steve Young, they need to do a better job in the trenches at the line of scrimmage.
“I found myself, during the game, saying to myself, where’s the dynamic nature of these athletes? It felt like it was just four guys bull rushing and trying to—I’m sure there’s way more to it, I’m not an expert—but my commentary to myself is, where’s all this [dynamicism]… And when they’re not getting there, we open ourselves up to this madness that happened on Saturday,” Young said on his KNBR podcast.
Despite him throwing two interceptions, San Francisco didn’t generate much pressure on Love. They didn’t sack him once in the game and their disruptiveness in the run game was non-existent. Aaron Jones ran for 108 yards in the contest, averaging 6.0 yards per carry.
If that same kind of performance is had against the Lions this weekend, the 49ers will find themselves eliminated from the playoffs. While the Packers have a good offense in their own right, they are an inexperienced group overall.
The Lions are not in the same boat, led by Jared Goff, who already has one Super Bowl appearance under his belt. Surrounded by established players such as wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Josh Reynolds and running back David Montgomery, this is a dangerous unit.
That is before even getting to emerging young players like running back Jahmyr Gibbs, tight end Sam LaPorta and wide receiver Jameson Williams. If the 49ers don’t get the job done at the line of scrimmage, things could get ugly on Sunday.
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