I hope we’re talking about this down the road as the foundation of something special.
The better team, with the better quarterback, lost. Football is weird.
That’s sports. Putting yourself in position only counts for so much. You have to make the most of that position, cash in, close the deal, however you want to phrase it. When you don’t, you leave with regrets and the other team leaves with a win. You have to take what’s there for the taking and the Packers gave rather than took.
Losing two yards on first down from the 13 on the game’s opening drive killed all the momentum. On the play before the failed Love shove, I saw Love can the third-and-1 call and it left me wondering what was the original? What if? The Packers had been stopped in goal-to-go only once all season (in Vegas) until Saturday night. The 49ers deserve credit for rising up defensively time and again, but it felt like the Packers were chasing those lost points the rest of the night.
Oh Mike, Jordan Love has played so well this year and the first half before making three horrible passes (two INTs and miss on third down) in the second half. He was not even under much pressure on those throws. So close and so disappointing. The 49ers are a very strong team and we had our shot at them. If we can build on this then our future looks bright.
As I focused on in my Rapid Reaction piece, Love basically came back to earth after an otherworldly run. It happens. It felt like the early missed opportunities put so much pressure on the offense later, it threw him off his game, and then the pressure from those misses led to the bad decision at the end. San Francisco’s defense has a way of making teams press because you know you’re only going to get so many chances. Looking back, understanding fully hindsight is 20/20, I wonder if third-and-9 from the SF 23 with 6½ minutes left goes differently if the Packers take a timeout rather than rush the snap when the Niners are all-out blitzing. That drive, maybe that play, was the best chance to win the game. Coulda, woulda, shoulda.
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