Robbie Gould, 49ers send top-seeded Green Bay packing in NFC divisional round upset

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On a field littered with snow flurries, Gould’s kick knocked off the top-seeded Packers and possibly ended Aaron Rodgers’ tenure in Green Bay. Gould has made all 20 of his career playoff field-goal attempts.

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Robbie Gould continued his playoff perfection and moved the San Francisco 49ers one step away from their second Super Bowl appearance in three seasons with a 45-yard field goal as time expired for a 13-10 upset of Green Bay on Saturday night.

The 49ers (12-7) continued their postseason hex on Rodgers and advanced to an NFC championship game matchup Jan. 30 at either the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (14-4) or Los Angeles Rams (13-5). Those teams play Sunday in Tampa.

San Francisco’s win, coupled with the Cincinnati Bengals’ 19-16 victory over the Tennessee Titans earlier in the day, marked the first time both No. 1 seeds lost in the divisional round in the same season since 2010. Green Bay won at Atlanta and the New York Jets won at New England that season.

“It’s dangerous, man. When a team gets hot, it’s dangerous,” Garoppolo added. “So we’ve just got to keep this thing going, focus on next week now, and keep this thing rolling.”

Rodgers went 19 of 25 for 221 yards and dropped to 0-4 in career playoff matchups against the 49ers. San Francisco beat the Packers 37-20 in the NFC championship game two seasons ago before losing 31-20 to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.

The Packers (13-5) earned the NFC’s top seed for a second straight season but again failed to reach the big game as the 49ers rallied by scoring 10 unanswered points in the final five minutes.

San Francisco tied the game with 4:41 left thanks to a breakdown by Green Bay’s special teams, the Packers’ biggest weakness all season.

Jordan Willis’ outstretched left hand blocked a punt by Corey Bojorquez, who was kicking from the front of his end zone. Talanoa Hufanga picked up the ball at the 6-yard line and ran it in to make it 10-10.

After the Packers went three-and-out, the 49ers got the ball back at their 29 with 3:20 left and drove into field-goal range. Deebo Samuel delivered a 9-yard run on third-and-8 from the Green Bay 38, and the 49ers ran down the clock to set up Gould.

A.J. Dillon’s 6-yard touchdown run capped a 69-yard drive on the game’s opening possession that put the Packers ahead 7-0. Green Bay’s offense didn’t do much of anything after that.

Green Bay’s special teams fared even worse.

Well before that blocked punt, San Francisco’s Jimmie Ward blocked a 39-yard field-goal attempt from Mason Crosby on the final play of the first half, preventing the Packers from extending their lead to 10-0. The Packers also allowed Samuel to return the second-half kickoff 45 yards, setting up the 49ers’ first field goal.

San Francisco won by overcoming a brutal start from its offense. The 49ers had minus-10 yards in their first four series, three of which included third-down sacks. It was the first time the 49ers had opened a game with four straight three-and-outs since a 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 27, 2009.

San Francisco didn’t get a single first down or pass completion until Garoppolo connected with George Kittle on a 15-yard gain with less than 6½ minutes left in the second quarter. Garoppolo was just 9 of 17 for 105 yards with an interception, but the 49ers still managed to win.

“It took everything,” Garoppolo said. “We knew it was going to. I mean, it was just offense, defense, special teams - everybody stepping up and doing their part. Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

WATCH: Robbie Gould sends 49ers to NFC championship game

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RED HOT 🔥@RobbieGould09 GAME WINNER Next Up: NFC Championship on FOX pic.twitter.com/ZMqD0n3rR7 — San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) January 23, 2022

The 49ers are on to the NFC championship without scoring an offensive touchdown thanks to a pair of Robbie Gould field goals, including the game winner in the final seconds.

San Francisco burned the final 3:20 off the clock after forcing a Green Bay punt late, and Gould stepped up to drill a 45-yard field goal to win it on the final play.

Gould’s cold-weather kicking prowess could be 49ers’ key vs. Packers

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Robbie Gould hasn’t played a lot of games in Lambeau Field under the conditions he’ll see Saturday night, so he spent this week gathering as much research as he could.

Part of that involves wearing scuba gear to at least partially insulate him from temperatures expected to be in the low 20s at kickoff. Then it will get colder.

The last time the 49ers played in the postseason at Lambeau, it came down to a 33-yard field goal attempt by Phil Dawson following the 2013 season in the wild card round. Dawson made it and the 49ers won 23-20.

Gould, 39, played 11 seasons for the Chicago Bears in the NFC North and then one for the New York Giants before joining the 49ers in 2017, so he’s well acquainted with the cold and will be playing his 14th game at Lambeau Field.

In a wild card playoff loss with the Giants in 14-degree temperatures and 17 miles per hour wind following the 2016 season, Gould converted the only two field goals he attempted from distances of 26 and 40 yards.

“I wore a scuba suit on the top half of my body, tried to work on whether I was going to wear thick tights or not at practice,” Gould said Thursday before the 49ers left for Green Bay. “I’m pretty familiar with what I think I’m going to wear. I’m pretty comfortable there.”

Gould has been nearly automatic at Lambeau, converting 20 of 21 field-goal attempts and all 21 of his point-after tries for his career.

The only games that came with the infamous Green Bay winter conditions were the Giants game in which he kicked two field goals, and on Christmas Day in 2011. In that game, Gould was 2-for-3 in field goal attempts in 37-degree temperatures with a 29-degree wind chill. His lone miss that day in Lambeau was on a 49-yard attempt.

So Gould did some research this week with his place-kicking fraternity. He talked with Greg Joseph, who kicked a 51-yard field goal for Minnesota in Week 17 on an 11-degree day with minus-1 wind chill.

Gould also reached out to Lawrence Tynes, who kicked three field goals (and missed two) when the temperature was minus-1 and the wind chill minus-23 when the Giants eliminated the Packers from the playoffs following the 2007 season.

Robbie Gould’s first punt since 2007 is downed inside the 20 🔥 📺: #SFvsLAR on FOX

📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/ErqR7jrwsD — NFL (@NFL) January 9, 2022

“I talked to Greg about the field, just to get a feel for what it looks like, what it might feel like, how the footing is going to be,” Gould said. “I talked to Lawrence about what he remembered about the warmup, about the game weather-wise and different ways to prepare, know that it’s probably going to be below zero.”

Gould validated the 49ers’ faith in him after missing time with a groin injury by coming up huge late in the season. His field goals against Dallas came from distances of 53, 40 and 52 yards. Gould doesn’t distract easily. Before the game, he nearly got run over by service members folding out a giant American flag and then during warmups Cowboys cheerleaders were on the field in a scene reminiscent of a PGA golfer teeing off with fans on both sides.

“It was an interesting start to the day,” Gould said. Related Articles Photos: Highlights of San Francisco 49ers thrilling playoff victory over Green Bay Packers

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In a Week 18 game that put the 49ers into the playoffs on the road against Los Angeles, Gould kicked the game-winning 24-yard field goal in overtime and had punts of 47 and 43 yards that were not returned after Mitch Wishnowsky left with a concussion.

“Robbie is just such a consummate pro,” 49ers special teams coordinator Richard Hightower said. “To be so locked in, I could have told you what he was going to do in the L.A. game by the way he looked at us the night before the game and the way he was all week.”

Having kicked in Chicago for 11 years, Gould knows what he’s up against even if his late-December and January games at Lambeau have been limited.

“The ball isn’t going to expand on your foot like it normally would,” Gould said. “It’s going to be heavier. The key for games like this is to make sure in pregame warmup you’ve got the right gloves, the right footing. You get a feel for how the ball is traveling, then come up with a game plan.”

And then?

“It’s definitely going to hurt. I’ll probably have black and blue marks for a couple of days,” Gould said. “But I played in Chicago for 11 years and a year in New York. You either embrace it or let it bother you and I think a lot of guys in the locker room are embracing what’s ahead of us.”

How the 49ers’ special teams engineered an upset win over Packers

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It was Robbie Gould who knocked a 45-yard field goal through the uprights to clinch the 49ers’ 13-10 come-from-behind victory at Lambeau Field on Saturday night, but San Francisco’s placekicker was hardly the only special teams hero from an upset win over the top-seeded Green Bay Packers.

Special teams coach Richard Hightower has drawn significant criticism for frequent failures from his group throughout the season, but it was Gould’s two field goals coupled with three critical special teams plays against the Packers that propelled the 49ers into next weekend’s NFC Championship Game.

All 13 of the 49ers’ points against the Packers were produced by their special teams units as Hightower and Co. overcame a year full of miscues to deliver on the biggest stage yet.

“You can’t talk enough about our special teams today with (Hightower), our special teams coach, he’s been through a lot this year,” tight end George Kittle said postgame. “But we had confidence in him and he had confidence in us.”

Moments before the first half ended, safety Jimmie Ward failed to cover Packers running back Aaron Jones, who snuck behind cornerback Donate Johnson on a wheel route from the backfield for a 75-yard completion that gave Green Bay an opportunity to add to its 7-0 lead.

Ward admitted responsibility for the coverage bust, but atoned for the mistake three plays later when he sprinted through the line of scrimmage and blocked Packers kicker Mason Crosby’s 39-yard field goal attempt as time expired in the first half.

“Hightower definitely pointed it out and told me I had a good chance of getting it,” Ward said.

In his postgame press conference, Ward highlighted the help he received on the play from defensive lineman Jordan Willis, who opened the C-gap for Ward by chopping down on the left hand of Packers lineman Dean Lowry.

“It was great penetration on the field goal block to help me block the field goal,” Ward said. “That’s why I shouted out Jordan Willis.”

Numero Uno said NOPE!#SFvsGB on FOX/49ers App pic.twitter.com/Z0MSMluWp9 — San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) January 23, 2022

After the two teams emerged from their locker rooms, the next play proved to be another critical momentum shift in the 49ers’ favor provided by their special teams. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has been reluctant to use star receiver Deebo Samuel on special teams this year, but the 49ers’ most dynamic offensive playmaker opened the third quarter as the kick returner and brought the opening kickoff of the second half out 45 yards to set up San Francisco’s offense at the 50-yard line.

A 49ers team that struggled in the red zone all night and didn’t find the end zone until the final five minutes of the game didn’t capitalize on Samuel’s return with a touchdown, but the favorable field position led to a 29-yard field goal from Gould that cut Green Bay’s lead to 7-3.

After the Packers added on with their own field goal early in the fourth quarter, Green Bay was prepared to rely on a lights-out defense to put the game away in the closing minutes. Following a 3rd down sack from Arik Armstead with 5:29 to play in the game, the Packers brought out their punt unit from their own 12-yard line.

That’s when Willis made one of the greatest individual special teams plays in franchise history as he bull-rushed his way deep into the Green Bay backfield before lifting his left hand in the direction of Corey Bojorquez’s punt. Willis’ block sent 49ers defenders scrambling for the football and rookie Talanoa Hufanga was the man who scooped the ball in stride and rumbled his way into the end zone for a game-tying touchdown.

WHAT A HEADS UP PLAY BY THE ROOK @TalanoaHufanga 🤙#SFvsGB on FOX/49ers App pic.twitter.com/yzP6NAqWgW — San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) January 23, 2022

“I didn’t know where it was at until I heard it,” Hufanga said. “But I just want to give a shout out to (Hightower) and what he dialed up for us this week.”

Hufanga’s head coach, Shanahan, was grateful the safety had the awareness to try and score instead of simply falling on the football and giving the 49ers possession in the red zone.

“In those elements, I was really hoping he was going to pick it up and return it because I wasn’t wanting to call plays from there,” Shanahan admitted. Related Articles Photos: Highlights of San Francisco 49ers thrilling playoff victory over Green Bay Packers

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Hufanga ended up with the ball in the end zone, and minutes later –after quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo led the 49ers into field goal range for Gould– Willis ended up with a different one in the locker room.

“I gave (one game ball) to Jordan Willis for that blocked punt,” Shanahan said. “I think that’s all I gave, I should have given a lot more, but I’ll probably do it on the plane.”

Thanks to a resilient special teams effort, the flight home from Green Bay the 49ers took in the early hours of Sunday morning won’t be the last time the team boards a plane this season. Following the conclusion of the other NFC Divisional Round matchup between the Rams and Buccaneers, the 49ers will learn whether their efforts at Lambeau Field will result in a trip to Los Angeles or Tampa Bay for next weekend’s NFC Championship Game.

Robbie Gould San Francisco 49ers Green Bay Packers

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GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Robbie Gould lived up to his name.

On a field littered with snow flurries, Gould made a 45-yard field goal Saturday night as time expired that knocked off the top-seeded Packers 13-10 and possibly ended Aaron Rodgers’ tenure in Green Bay.

Gould has made all 20 of his career playoff field-goal attempts. His latest helped the 49ers complete an improbable comeback by scoring 10 unanswered points in the last five minutes.

“I always trust Robbie. He’s as good as gold, man,” Niners quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said. “He always is.”

This marks the 17th conference championship appearance for the 49ers, the most by any team since conferences were formed in the 1970 merger. The 49ers had been tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“It’s dangerous, man. When a team gets hot, it’s dangerous," Garoppolo added. “So we’ve just got to keep this thing going, focus on next week now, and keep this thing rolling.”

Rodgers went 20 of 29 for 225 yards and dropped to 0-4 in career playoff starts against the 49ers. He’s the first quarterback in NFL history to lose four playoff starts to a single opponent.

He now enters an uncertain offseason. After skipping the Packers’ mandatory minicamp in a standoff with management, Rodgers said he was uncertain whether this would be his last year in Green Bay. Rodgers said last month he was keeping all options open.

Rodgers didn’t want to speculate on his future Saturday night, though he said he didn’t want to be part of a rebuild if he keeps playing.

“I don’t think it’s fair to anybody or myself to really go down those paths at this point,” Rodgers said. “It’s disappointing, sad and fresh. I’ll have conversations in the next week or so and start to contemplate after that.”

The Packers (13-5) earned the NFC’s top seed for a second straight season and were the league’s only unbeaten team at home, but again failed to reach the big game. They haven’t made it to the Super Bowl since their 2010 championship season.

“I just didn’t envision it like this,” said Green Bay’s Aaron Jones, who had nine catches for 129 yards and 12 carries for 41 yards.

San Francisco tied the game with 4:41 left thanks to a breakdown by Green Bay’s special teams, the Packers’ biggest weakness all season.

After the Packers went three-and-out, the 49ers got the ball back at their 29 with 3:20 left and drove into field-goal range. Deebo Samuel delivered a 9-yard run on third-and-7 from the Green Bay 38, and the 49ers ran down the clock to set up Gould.

A.J. Dillon’s 6-yard touchdown run capped a 69-yard drive on the game’s opening possession that put the Packers ahead 7-0. Green Bay’s offense didn’t do much of anything after that.

Green Bay’s special teams fared even worse.

The Packers also allowed Samuel to return the second-half kickoff 45 yards, setting up the 49ers’ first field goal. Green Bay also appeared to have only 10 men on the field when Gould made his winning kick.

“We thought our special teams had an advantage in this game,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “We thought they had an opportunity to possibly win us the game. And to be able to say that and to actually come to fruition … was huge for those guys and huge for our team.”

The 49ers didn’t get a single first down or pass completion until Garoppolo connected with George Kittle on a 15-yard gain with less than 6 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter. Garoppolo was just 11 of 190 for 131 yards with an interception, but the 49ers still managed to win.

“It took everything," Garoppolo said. “We knew it was going to. I mean, it was just offense, defense, special teams - everybody stepping up and doing their part. Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

THE TUNDRA

The temperature at kickoff was 14 degrees with a wind chill of zero, making it the fifth-coldest playoff game in Lambeau Field history. The second half was played amid snow flurries.

INJURIES

The Packers were without OT David Bakhtiari, a 2020 All-Pro selection. Bakhtiari played 27 snaps in the Packers’ regular-season finale, which marked his first game since tearing his left anterior cruciate ligament on Dec. 31, 2020.

49ers running back Jeff Wilson left with an ankle injury after the opening kickoff. Packers safety Darnell Savage (back) and running back A.J. Dillon (chest) left in the third quarter.

NEXT UP

The 49ers will be at either Tampa or the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC championship game on Jan. 30.

The Packers’ season is over. Will Rodgers be back with the Pack?

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