Packers vs. 49ers score: Live updates, highlights, NFL scores for NFC divisional playoff game

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We’re live with the divisional round clash between the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers. The Niners knocked Green Bay out of the playoffs two years ago. The Packers survived a similar upset attempt earlier this season.

Both of these teams have changed quite a bit since then, though. The No. 1-seeded Packers are getting a boost in the form of David Bakhtiari, Jaire Alexander, and Za’Darius Smith, each of whom has been out for most of this season but will be active for this game. They played extraordinarily well even without those stars, but their presence will surely help. The 49ers will likely lean on their run game to control the clock and keep the Green Bay offense off the field – especially considering Jimmy Garoppolo is dealing with multiple injuries. They have the Elijah Mitchell and Deebo Samuel tandem running people over from the backfield.

Which of these sides will win out? We’ll find out soon enough. Follow along with our live blog throughout the evening as we update you with stats, scores, and highlights.

How to watch

Date: Saturday, Jan. 22 | Time: 8:15 p.m. ET

Location: Lambeau Field (Green Bay)

TV: FOX | Stream: FuboTV (click here)

Follow: CBS Sports App

Odds: Packers -5.5, O/U 47

32 things we learned from 2021 NFL wild-card round: More excitement ahead?

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The 32 things we learned from the wild-card round of the 2021 NFL playoffs:

1. With the divisional round now set, let’s hope less is more as the number of teams continues to dwindle. As much as the league has touted the expansion of its regular-season schedule to 272 games and the postseason format to 14 teams, it hasn’t necessarily felt like a better product to this point – maybe aside from those three wild overtime finishes in Week 18. But here’s hoping next weekend – Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers hosting the San Francisco 49ers at a potentially frigid Lambeau Field, while the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen prepare to square off for the second straight January – should help.

2.The Dallas Cowboys have not advanced beyond the divisional round since they won Super Bowl 30 to cap the 1995 season. Their 11 consecutive postseason berths without reaching the conference title game is the longest such string since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

3. The Buffalo Bills haven’t lost a playoff game at home (3-0) under coach Sean McDermott. They also haven’t won one on the road (0-3) since he took over in 2017.

4. After winning their first playoff game in Texas, the Niners will now take on another flagship franchise in Green Bay, a team San Francisco has beaten in its last three playoff matchups. Brett Favre was 4-1 in the postseason against the 49ers, but Rodgers is 0-3.

5. Monday night’s playoff game was the league’s first since the playoff format grew to 12 teams in 1990. But there have now been five postseason Monday nighters during the Super Bowl era (since 1966), and the last four have featured the Rams – most recently in 1988 prior to their defeat of Arizona. LA is now 2-2 on “MNF” in the playoffs.

WINNERS, LOSERS FROM WILD-CARD WEEKEND:Bills break out as Cowboys confound in playoffs

MORE:Why do Cowboys perennially seem to fall short?

6. This year’s playoff field had seven new teams compared to the 2020 Super Bowl tournament, and all of them – 49ers, Bengals, Cardinals, Cowboys, Eagles, Patriots, Raiders – participated in the wild-card round. Only Cincinnati and San Francisco advanced.

7. Unlucky No. 7? Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger most likely made his final NFL appearance in Sunday night’s loss at Kansas City. And both seventh-seeded teams, Pennsylvania’s Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles, both got thoroughly dominated.

7a. Roethlisberger’s five losses in the wild-card round are the most ever suffered by any quarterback.

8. The Cincinnati Bengals and Las Vegas Raiders combined for eight field goals Saturday, the first playoff game ever to have both teams make at least four.

9. OLB Jason Pierre-Paul has never lost in nine postseason appearances, four with the New York Giants, and the last five with Tampa Bay. Oddly, he only has 2½ playoff sacks.

10. Dallas and Philadelphia both lost Sunday. The Eagles and Cowboys each won in the 2018 wild-card round, the last time the NFC East earned a playoff victory.

11. The Bucs are 11-0, including playoffs, when TE Rob Gronkowski scores a TD.

12. Tom Brady now has 709 career TD passes, postseason games included – 101 more than Drew Brees, who ranks second.

12a. Brady is 0-2 against the Los Angeles Rams since joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020. Both losses occurred in the regular season.

13. In his 13th NFL season, Rams QB Matthew Stafford earned his first playoff victory. Next up, he’ll face TB12 … whose playoff résumé features a 35-11 record.

14. The Cowboys’ 14 penalties Sunday were the most ever committed in a playoff defeat.

15. Dallas was the only home team to lose this weekend – but the ‘Boys managed to do it in spectacular fashion.

15a. Doesn’t mean we can have fans littering field with debris, Dak, especially when you put zebras in a bad spot.

16. Cowboys-49ers was the only wild-card contest that wasn’t a regular-season rematch. The Bengals, Bucs and Chiefs all completed sweeps, while the Bills and Rams won rubber matches against division rivals, each of them winning the final two meetings.

17.The last four times San Francisco and Dallas have met in the postseason (1981, 1992, 1993, 1994), the winner has reached the Super Bowl.

18. San Francisco K Robbie Gould has made all 49 of his playoff kicks, including 18-for-18 on field-goal tries – the best mark of the Super Bowl era.

19. Bill Belichick’s three worst losses as New England’s head coach have all come to Buffalo, including Saturday’s 30-point defeat, his worst in postseason.

20. Ugly playoff debut for Cards QB Kyler Murray, who had 143 yards of total offense and two INTs, one of the very ugly variety. Murray and Arizona coach Kliff Kingsbury helped the Cardinals climb one more rung in 2021, but this club hardly looks ready for bona fide contention.

21. Mahomes is 7-0 in playoff starts when he doesn’t oppose Brady … against whom he’s 0-2.

21a. Coming off his first wild-card round appearance, Mahomes moves on to divisional weekend – where he’s gone 3-0

22. Mahomes’ 404 passing yards Sunday night were a postseason career high, and he became the first QB to hit the 400 threshold and throw for five TDs in a winning playoff performance.

23. The Chiefs were literally twice as good as the Steelers. Both teams held the ball for 30 minutes Sunday – yet K.C. doubled up Pittsburgh on points (42-21) and outgained them 478-257.

24. Lots of siblings appearing over the weekend, including Chiefs TE Travis Kelce and Eagles C Jason Kelce, Steelers OLB T.J. Watt and Cardinals DE J.J. Watt, and Bills WR Stefon Diggs and Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs.

24a. If Travis Kelce surpasses 100 yards against Buffalo this Sunday, he’ll become the first player with five consecutive 100-yard receiving games in playoff history.

24b. T.J. Watt scored on a fumble return Sunday, joining J.J. by scoring his first NFL TD in a postseason game.

25. Rams CB David Long Jr.’s 3-yard pick-six of Murray was the shortest in NFL playoff history.

26. Sunday was the Buccaneers’ first home playoff game since 2007 and first postseason win at Raymond James Stadium since 2002. (The venue was considered a neutral site for their win in Super Bowl 55.)

26a. Next weekend will also mark the Bucs’ first divisional round home game since 2002.

27. Tampa Bay is undefeated and has scored at least 30 points in all five of Brady’s postseason games with the franchise.

28. The Raiders still haven’t won a playoff game since the 2002 AFC championship game. While it remains to be seen whether coach Rich Bisaccia will have his “interim” label removed, Las Vegas will need a new general manager after firing Mike Mayock on Monday. The team was 25-25 with Mayock, formerly NFL Network’s draft guru.

29. We should’ve known the Cowboys would be sloppy Sunday. Even the equipment guys had a bad day – just check out LB Leighton Vander Esch’s jersey.

30. The Bengals’ defeat of the Raiders was their final home game of the 2021 season and produced a new attendance record for Cincinnati’s Paul Brown Stadium.

31. It’s time to start a swear jar for the ManningCast … might be the best strategy for paying down the national deficit.

32. Last week marked the 40th anniversary of “The Catch,” when Joe Montana’s TD pass to Dwight Clark in the back corner of Candlestick Park’s end zone in San Francisco propelled the Niners past the Cowboys in the NFC title game and on to their first Super Bowl win. Remarkably, Allen found TE Dawson Knox on a very similar play in Buffalo’s win … even if the stakes weren’t quite the same.

32a. Allen: “Honestly, I thought I threw the ball away.” It took the Bills QB a few beats to realize Knox had scored, igniting Buffalo’s stampede.

32b. The Niners didn’t have anyone catch a TD pass Sunday.

32c. And maybe they won’t need one next Saturday given how effective All-Pro “WR” Deebo Samuel is as a rusher, his 72 yards on the ground against Dallas a playoff record for a wideout during the Super Bowl era.

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis.

2021 NFL playoffs: What we learned from 49ers’ win over Cowboys on Super Wild Card Weekend

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FULL BOX SCORE

1. The better-coached team triumphed. Kyle Shanahan and Co. cooked up a tremendous opening offensive script, covering 75 yards in seven plays for the game’s first score, and a resounding punch in the Cowboys’ mouth. San Francisco pushed its lead to 13-0 before Dallas woke up, and followed a key takeaway in the third quarter with a well-timed run to Deebo Samuel, whose cut upfield made the difference and led him to a runaway score. Niners defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans called an excellent game, confusing Dak Prescott and the Cowboys offense throughout the game, so much that he finished with just 23 completions on 43 attempts and posted a passer rating of 69.3. There were some questionable decisions late in the game (more on that later), but with the bar set rather low by Mike McCarthy’s staff, Shanahan outperformed him significantly, even after nine accepted penalties against his team. The 49ers at least looked prepared, and played slightly cleaner football. That was the difference.

2. The Cowboys should be very harsh with their analysis of their performance. In a game that produced a total of 23 accepted penalties, the Cowboys committed 14 of them. They came in all shapes and sizes, wiping out positive gains, putting the Cowboys behind the chains and providing free yardage to the opposition. When Dallas tried to be creative, its offense usually botched it (save for a hook-and-lateral in the final minute), and more often than not, the Cowboys couldn’t get out of their own way. Dallas played as if it hadn’t adequately prepared for its opponent, getting out-coached in the first half and providing no answer for what San Francisco did defensively for the majority of the contest. The NFL’s top offense was reduced to a unit capable of producing just seven points through three quarters. And in a fitting conclusion, when the Cowboys had enough time for two shots to the end zone from San Francisco’s 41, Dallas called a QB draw, then failed to hand the ball to an official to reset it before attempting to spike it as the clock expired. That was how Dallas’ season ended, and when viewing Sunday’s game in total, there was no other way than this. Disappointing is an understatement.

3. We reached a point inside the game’s final four minutes where it became apparent neither team deserved to win. McCarthy’s team wasn’t mustering much of anything with the ball, but it was still a two-possession game, so McCarthy conceded on a fourth-and-two and punted late in the third quarter. He nearly punted again a few minutes later in a similar situation, but instead scored his staff’s greatest call of the afternoon when the Cowboys successfully executed a fake punt to set up a field goal. The mistakes, though, were overwhelming and made a close finish into a slog, capped by the perplexing decision to run Prescott with no timeouts and less than 20 seconds left. Meanwhile, Shanahan watched the quarterback for whom he drafted a replacement throw an interception that allowed the Cowboys back into a game they had no business being in, then punted on fourth-and-1 (and a chance to put Dallas away) with less than three minutes remaining. Shanahan, to his credit, redeemed himself with a third-down sweep to Samuel, who had a convoy of blockers, the edge, and just enough space to get close to the line to gain. He was short, begetting a false start on fourth-and-inches and forcing a 49ers punt into the end zone that was also rather mind-numbing. The San Francisco defense responded by surrendering the sidelines to Dallas, allowing the Cowboys to reach scoring range before they also outsmarted themselves in fatal fashion. McCarthy said afterward none of his guys blinked, but that’s simply not true. Both sides blinked way too much for a playoff game.

4. Deebo Samuel earned his All-Pro selection and played like one Sunday. San Francisco finished with 341 yards of total offense, but it wasn’t exactly a four-quarter clinic on how to move the ball extremely efficiently. When they turned to Samuel, however, it tended to be bountiful. Samuel averaged 7.2 yards per carry on his 10 attempts, pushed the San Francisco lead to 23-7 in the third quarter with a stellar touchdown run, and nearly iced the game on a sweep. He added three catches for 38 yards, and was clearly San Francisco’s most valuable and explosive player. He’s much more than just a receiver these days – he’s a weapon who’s not much of a secret anymore.

5. Great win for the 49ers; now, they turn to the injury report. The Niners are moving on and will play next week at Green Bay, and they might be doing so without their two most important defenders. All-Pro Nick Bosa exited Sunday’s game with a concussion, while star linebacker Fred Warner suffered an ankle injury that forced him out for the remainder of the game. Ryans deserves a ton of credit for resisting a Cowboys comeback effort without his top two defenders, but he’s certain to be hoping he’ll get them back before the Divisional Round kicks off. It’s tough to see the 49ers doing this for four quarters again without those two.

NFL Research: With his three field goals Sunday, 49ers kicker Robbie Gould moved into first place for the most career field goals made without a miss in the postseason with 18, passing Chris Boswell (16) and Ryan Succop (14).

Next Gen Stat of the game: Deebo Samuel gained +22 rushing yards over expected on his 26-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, his second-highest RYOE total on a single run this season.

2021 NFL playoffs: What we learned from Bills’ win over Patriots on Super Wild Card Weekend

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FULL BOX SCORE

1. It simply doesn’t get more dominant than this. Every single Buffalo possession ended in a touchdown except for their final one, which was just a series of kneel-downs by backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky. Yes, folks – Trubisky entered a wild-card game for Buffalo and it wasn’t due to injury. Little brother has finally grown up and gave the bully big brother a whooping he never saw coming. It started with Josh Allen, who was spectacular, finishing with a passing line of 21-of-25 for 308 yards, five touchdowns and a nearly perfect 157.6 passer rating. It continued with Buffalo’s defense, which forced two turnovers via Mac Jones interceptions. A total team victory is an understatement, and the rest of the league is undoubtedly now on notice. The next challenge for Allen and the Bills: Keep this momentum going. Make sure it wasn’t just a fluke on a cold night in Orchard Park. That will matter most.

2. New England goes out with a whimper. It wasn’t all that long ago we were pleasantly surprised to see the Patriots become a contender for the AFC crown, but somewhere along the way – New England’s Week 15 loss to Indianapolis, perhaps – the Patriots started losing steam. They didn’t regain it in the following week, falling to the Bills at home, and won just once in the regular season’s final month. It didn’t take long to realize the Patriots’ problems had snowballed into an avalanche in the form of Allen and the Bills, who thundered down the mountain and swallowed up the helpless Pats with a scoring assault that didn’t slow down until the game’s final seconds. All that good feeling built by the rookie quarterback and his veteran coach evaporated on a cold night in western New York. They’ll have the offseason to try to pick up the pieces.

3. Buffalo has been building toward this performance by committing to more than just Allen. The Bills spent much of the 2021 regular season gradually relying more and more on the talents of Allen, which can – as we learned Saturday night – produce incredible numbers, but also can hamstring their offensive potential. Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll realized this in recent weeks and rededicated his approach to the ground game, which paid off in droves against the Pats. Devin Singletary racked up 81 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, taking New England’s Week 13 strategy and forcefully beating them with their own game. Daboll wasn’t done there, though, running Allen six times for 66 yards and sprinkling in a little bit of receiver Isaiah McKenzie on perimeter runs, picking up 29 yards on just three attempts. The Bills attacked the Patriots from every angle, converting 6 of 7 third downs and graduating from an Allen-dependent offense to one that featured Allen but could do much more than just hope he’d go win the game by himself. That makes them incredibly dangerous from here on out.

4. Jones ends his rookie season with a valuable lesson learned. The rookie quarterback faced a bear of a Bills defense and struggled accordingly, throwing two interceptions, including one that came via a spectacular center-field chase-down from Micah Hyde. Jones’ teammates didn’t help him much, dropping a handful of passes, and the Patriots struggled to get much out of their rushing attack, gaining 89 yards on 20 carries. New England didn’t get much of an opportunity to find offensive balance thanks to an early 14-0 hole, and Jones wasn’t able to lift them out of the deficit in a hostile environment. This is part of developing into a franchise quarterback, which Jones certainly appeared to be at times in 2021. Everyone takes their lumps, and Jones got a healthy dose of them on Super Wild Card Weekend. He’ll be better for it in the long run.

5. Buffalo is more than just offense. The Bills defense deserves credit for its performance, which was complemented an explosive offense that was made possible by timely takeaways. It began with Hyde’s fantastic interception, which erased a scoring opportunity for New England and set up a 10-play, 80-yard touchdown march. The unit followed that up by forcing a three-and-out, also leading to a touchdown drive, then punctuated a great night by tipping and intercepting a Jones pass to open the second half. Another TD drive left viewers wondering when the Patriots might finally give in to an overwhelming Buffalo attack. The night was best described by one play: Jerry Hughes powered through right tackle Trent Brown to sack Jones, who was faking a spike and attempting to catch the Bills sleeping. Instead, Jones lost four yards and New England was forced to call a timeout, eventually settling for a field goal to make it a 27-3 game. That was just about as close as the Patriots would get to making it a game. If Buffalo keeps playing like this defensively, they’ll be a very tough out in the playoffs, starting with next weekend in the Divisional Round.

NFL Research: Josh Allen became the third player in NFL history with five-plus passing touchdowns, zero interceptions and fewer than five incompletions in a single playoff game. Hall of Famer Peyton Manning did so in the 2003 Wild Card Round versus the Broncos, and Hall of Famer Kurt Warner did so in the 2009 Wild Card Round versus the Packers.

Next Gen Stat of the game: Josh Allen became the first quarterback in the Next Gen Stats era to finish with a perfect 158.3 passer rating on passes with a time to throw of 2.5 or more seconds in a playoff game (min. 15 such attempts).

Josh Allen, Deebo Samuel, Joe Burrow among NFL statement-makers during Super Wild Card Weekend

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That’s what the Bills did on their first seven drives Saturday night. And on the eighth, they kneeled down three times to end the game. Buffalo did not punt, attempt a field goal or turn the ball over. How rare is that? Well, it’s never happened in recorded NFL history. Good lord!

Allen, of course, was the engine who drove this historic shellacking. The 25-year-old signal-caller completed 21 of his 25 passes for 308 yards and five touchdowns with zero interceptions. According to the good folks at NFL Research, Allen’s completion percentage (84.0) and passer rating (157.6) are the highest ever recorded by a quarterback (min. 25 pass att.) in a game vs. Belichick as a head coach, playoffs or regular season. And if that wasn’t enough, he also ran six times for 66 yards. Just an all-time performance to eliminate the big, bad, rival Patriots – and that’s key. The Bills have been my Super Bowl pick all season, and this kind of win gets the party started. After years of being tormented by Tom Brady’s Patriots, the Bills are getting a turn to own the rivalry with their star quarterback. Allen had more touchdowns than incompletions – against the greatest coach in NFL history. A piping-hot performance in the freezing cold.