The back-breaking drive that cost the 49ers against the Packers

In this week’s 49ers in review, we talk about mistakes, one drive that killed the team, and the play of the game

The final score might not be surprising with how injured the San Francisco 49ers were entering Green Bay for its Week 12 matchup against the Packers.

The 49ers found themselves within striking distance for most of the first part of the game, even without the likes of Nick Bosa, Brock Purdy, and Trent Williams. San Francisco found themselves down as little as ten points with the ball for most games, but the 49ers couldn’t get out of their way during the entire game.

And finally, the dam broke. After a first half that saw San Francisco trailing by only ten, Green Bay rode a 21-point second half en route to a 38-10 rout of the 49ers.

So, what went wrong for San Francisco? The week 12 loss, in review:

The mistakes added up

San Francisco kept the game within reach for about two and a half quarters, but constant self-inflictions proved too much for the shorthanded Niners to overcome.

The earliest – and most frequent – mistake the 49ers made all game was the missed tackles. Per the FOX broadcast, the San Francisco defense missed ten tackles in the first quarter – the most missed tackles in a quarter by any team this season, aiding a first quarter where Josh Jacobs finished with 58 yards on 12 carries.

The missed tackles weren’t a first-quarter exclusive for San Francisco, with the issue consisting the whole game. The FOX broadcast showed another stat later that Jacobs had forced the most missed tackles by any player in a game this season – 14 – by the midway point in the third quarter. Green Bay took advantage of the 49ers’ poor tackling display with 169 rushing yards on 42 attempts, with Jacobs leading the way with 106 rushing yards and a trio of touchdowns.

The 49ers might have survived with just the missed tackles, but San Francisco also had a severe penalty problem on Sunday. The 49ers were called for nine penalties, but it wasn’t the quantity that hurt the most; it was the timing of some of the flags.

The offensive line was the main attraction for flags in the first half, with four penalties on the position group. Rookie right guard was called for three of those, his first on a false start on a second-and-1, where the 49ers would be forced to punt two plays later. A couple of drives later, Jake Brendel would be called for a false start on a third-and-1, but San Francisco would convert the subsequent third-and-6. On the 49ers’ next third down attempt, facing a third-and-1, Puni again would be called for a false start, but again, the 49ers would convert the longer third down to extend the drive.

San Francisco would finish that drive with a touchdown, but not all penalties would be so easy for the Niners to overcome.

After cutting the Green Bay lead to ten before the halftime break, San Francisco was in a prime spot to get back into the game to start the second half. Deebo Samuel would be back to return the second-half kickoff, and he would take the ball 87 yards deep into Green Bay territory, but there would be some laundry on the field. An Eric Saubert hold would negate the big return, and instead of the ball inside the red zone, the 49ers offense would start on the opposite side of the field for a drive that ended with a turnover on downs.

All the injuries might have hampered the 49ers’ hopes of winning on Sunday, but all the mistakes killed any chance of coming out of Lambeau with a win.

The back-breaking drive

If there were one drive from Sunday that could be viewed as a microcosm of the 49ers’ performance on Sunday, it would be Green Bay’s second touchdown-scoring drive of the first half.

San Francisco had plenty of chances to end the drive – three, to be exact – but the Packers went three-for-three on third downs to extend the scoring drive. Facing a third-and-6 three plays into the drive, Seah Rhyan was called for a false start, turning it into a third-and-11. That was no issue for Jordan Love, who hit a wide-open Romeo Doubs over the middle for a gain of 29. Love would find Doubs three plays later to convert a third-and-5 and again on another third-and-10 to enter the red zone.

That’s where the drive would go from bad to embarrassing for the 49ers.

The Packers would get a free play with San Francisco, which called for too many men on the field, although Green Bay was called for an illegal formation, offsetting the 49ers penalty. It was a run-of-the-mill too many men, as San Francisco tried to run the extra man off the field, but Love rushed Green Bay’s offense to the line to get the snap off in time to draw the flag.

Since the 49ers’ defense almost fixed the too-many-men-on-the-field issue the first time, there’s no way it could happen again, right?

You would be wrong, as San Francisco broke the huddle on the next play with 12 men and again were called for the infraction, moving the Packers that much closer to the goal line. Two plays later, Jacobs would score what would prove to be the game-winning touchdown, putting Green Bay up 17-0.

Play of the game

There wasn’t much positive to take from the loss on Sunday, so let’s do our best to find some ray of light.

After San Francisco’s first two drives were stuffed – six plays for six yards – the offense sought momentum. It finally got its first first down, converting a third-and-7 with a Brandon Allen short completion to Christian McCaffrey, and finally got the ball into Green Bay territory.

Kyle Shanahan went into his bag of tricks with San Francisco on the plus side of the field and pulled out this little doozy:

After two drives without much offensive production, the 49ers finally made a chunk play, gaining 21 yards on the play, which put the offense in the red zone for the first and only time in the game.

The offense used the momentum to find the end zone for the first (and again, only) time to go behind 17-7. The score also happened at the end of the first half, with the 49ers getting the ball back on the other side of halftime. With some momentum and the ball back, San Francisco was in an excellent spot to get themselves firmly back into the game.

The play that ended the game

San Francisco couldn’t score on the drive coming out of the half, but the defense forced Green Bay into a three-and-out, giving the Niners offense the ball back with a chance to cut the Packers at least lead to seven.

With the drive starting at San Francisco’s 10-yard-line, the 49ers got 12 yards on two Christian McCaffrey runs to get out of the shadow of the end zone. San Francisco would get its biggest gain of the gain on a 31-yard pass to George Kittle, and just like that, the Niners offense was in plus territory again.

Two plays later, San Francisco faced a third-and-8 when Allen uncorked a ball to Samuel that would have gotten enough to continue the drive:

The throw might be a touch behind Samuel, but it’s a ball Samuel should haul in, if not at minimum, get more of a hand on to give the ball a more substantial deflection. Instead, the ball powered through Samuel’s hand into the waiting arms of Xavier McKinney, who hauled it in for his league-leading seventh interception.

The interception wasn’t enough for McKinney, who would return it 48 yards, firmly placing the Green Bay offense inside San Francisco territory.

Instead of a San Francisco first down near the red zone with a chance to make it a one-score game, it was Green Bay’s ball in a threatening position. Three plays later, the Packers would extend the lead to 24-7, taking what felt like an insurmountable 17-point lead near the end of the third quarter.