49ers 13 – Packers 10 | The end for Rodgers in Green Bay?

(Green Bay) We were all hoping for closer matches than in the first round of the playoffs this weekend. We couldn’t have asked for better since the first two games of the second round were decided on the last play.

Miguel Bujold
The Press

For the fourth time in as many occasions, Aaron Rodgers has lost a playoff game against his boyhood team. After leading most of the game, Rodgers and the Packers saw all 49^ers of San Francisco save themselves with a 13-10 victory, made possible thanks to their special teams.

The Niners had already blocked a Mason Crosby field goal attempt on the last play of the first half. Jimmie Ward had then prevented the Packers from increasing their lead to 10-0 before the intermission. They did it again at the most opportune time.

Played in the snow, the second half was dominated by the two defenses, the attacks having to settle for a placement each in the first 25 minutes after the break. Leading 10-3, the Packers seemed content to let their defense close the books. Then everything turned into a nightmare.

With just under five minutes left to play, Jordan Willis blocked Corey Bojorquez’s punt deep into Packers territory. Players on both teams were unsure where the ball was before Talanoa Hufanga picked it up and scored a six-yard touchdown. Quickly like that, we were back to square one.

After an unsuccessful Packers streak, Jimmy Garoppolo and the Niners gained 44 yards in eight plays, including a superb nine-yard run from Deebo Samuel on a third-and-seven. It was the play that essentially delivered the knockout blow to the Packers, who watched Robbie Gould send them on vacation with a 45-yard field goal.

It’s another huge disappointment for Rodgers and the Packers, who have won 13 in each of their past three seasons. They will have to wait at least another year before returning to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2010.

The question everyone is asking: Will Rodgers be back with the Packers in 2022?

Eliminated in the conference finals the previous two years, Matt LaFleur’s team had two weeks to prepare for Saturday. However, with the exception of the touchdown scored in their first offensive series, Rodgers and the offense did very little the rest of the game.

Much like the previous two Packers eliminations, it felt like Rodgers was missing one more target. Even more without Robert Tonyan and Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

When Rodgers won his Super Bowl 11 years ago, he could count on Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, James Jones and Donald Driver. In recent years, it is extremely thin behind Davante Adams in receivers. Running for 75 yards, running back Aaron Jones led the Packers with 129 passing yards to 49^ers. Adams meanwhile caught 9 passes for 90 yards. Other Packers players had a grand total of six passing yards…

Given all of the team’s failures in the playoffs and the controversy following Rodgers, the best solution for all would probably be a trade. We will have time to come back to it.

Six days after defeating the Cowboys in Dallas, the 49^ers found a way to play the same trick on the team that was the overwhelming favorite to win the Super Bowl just 24 hours ago. Thanks to the tenacity of players like Samuel, Garoppolo, Fred Warner and Trent Williams, all playing through injuries, the Niners are one win away from returning to the Super Bowl for the second time in three years.

The most important member in the successes of the 49^ers ? Hard not to answer Samuel, isn’t it? But Kyle Shanahan deserves a lot of praise. Although his offense wasn’t very productive on Saturday night, the head coach picked the right plays at the right times, as he almost always does. His team does not want to know about losing and is doing absolutely everything in its power to play one more week. A great team.

All blame to Tannehill

It’s been a few years since we wondered if Ryan Tannehill was good enough to win a Super Bowl. It should be much clearer now.

There’s no other way to analyze the Titans’ 19-16 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday: all blame lies with Tannehill. Mike Vrabel said after the game that everyone on his team deserved their share of the blame, but let’s be serious. Tannehill sank his club.

Tannehill threw an interception on his team’s first offensive play, then on his first pass of the second half. The Bengals started the third quarter with their only touchdown of the game, a 16-yard run from Joe Mixon that gave them a 16-6 lead. The Titans looked set to respond after four carries and 66 yards, but Tannehill ended the streak with his second interception of the game.

The Titans managed to tie the game in the fourth quarter and had a chance to win in the last minute. But with 20 seconds left and they were 3-5 at their 40-yard line, Tannehill’s latest gaffe put the game in the hands of his opponent Joe Burrow. Rather than give the Titans a chance to play in overtime, Tannehill forced a pass into midfield and the ball ended up in the hands of linebacker Logan Wilson.

Rookie Evan McPherson ended the game with his fourth field goal of the game on the last play, a 52-yard strike. McPherson made all eight field goal attempts in two playoff games.

Let’s not take anything away from the Bengals. They did what they had to to win.

That said, the Titans should never have skipped this game. Although Derrick Henry wasn’t at his best after a nearly three-month absence, the ground game gained 140 yards. Their two best receivers, AJ Brown and Julio Jones, did their job, too.

And what about defense? The Titans had nine sacks and forced the Bengals to settle for field goals on several occasions. Vrabel’s team is strong, but they are missing the most important piece. Tannehill is too fickle to take them all the way.

Burrow, he is a quarterback capable of winning a Super Bowl, there is no longer any doubt. Playing without any pressure and with a light heart, Zac Taylor and his flock are the first Bengals to win a playoff game on the road, which will allow them to advance to their first conference final since the 1988 season next Sunday.