I agree that this game could have had a very different ending. The ball, over a minute left, timeouts remaining and needing only a FG.

Play 2: I'm not seeing Wooden. Did you mean Wyatt?

Play 3: An all-around disaster by the QB and receiving unit. Someone(s) should have come back to help Love out. But since that didn't happen, his only sensible choice was to throw the ball away.

The two-minute drill is something the offense has to work on going forward. Love also needs to relax in these situations, knowing he has four downs to work with and multiple timeouts; there's no need to do anything desperate or force the ball unless it's your last play. He did something somewhat similar in an early game, the Raiders I think.

...........but the big positive I took from this game is that it shows the Packers can take on the 49ers and have every expectation of beating them. This is not something I could have said the last few years.

While every year is a different thing, the youth on this team means lots of guys coming back and many of them coming back better, with the playing time they got this year.

Enjoyed the 3 Plays articles, Al! Always a fun read/watch!

The season ending play was a mistake by both AJ and Love. With the ball in AJs hands in the wide open flat and his quickness, balance and vision...who knows? That is a good "Hmmm!"

But Jordan throwing that pass with a minute on the clock was a perplexing "Noooooooo!"

I think in this game with a young offense the Defense with more experience needed to pick up the offense and it did not that is squarely on Joe Barry , he didn’t know when to blitz or who to blitz with .

I saw the same thing on your 3rd play Al. I rewound that play 3 times to try to find anyone within 25 yards of Jones. That was a big one there.

Impossible to find 1 or 2 things that cost us this MONTROUSLY big chance at a win. I would have really liked our chances with Detroit or Tampa Bay. A division rival who we always love to beat, or playing a revenge game against the Bucs who beat us a couple of weeks ago.

Looking forward to the offseason and draft, hopefully we can have as much success reloading the Safety room and making it a strength like we did @ TE & WR. What a difference that would make for this team. D-backs that can tackle and catch the ball when its thrown right to us. I just saw a mock that had us take 2 Safeties in the first 3 picks. Kind of like the way we got 2 top TEs last year. I am not sure I would do that but Safety is the #1 need. I am more inclined to pick a Safety with our first pick, another later, and sign a good FA that could play and mentor. I really wanted Taylor Rapp last year, but the Bills scored him cheap.

Al, how do you feel about trading back to late first or early second, if we could find a partner, and picking a top 3 Safety where they should start to come off the board. We would also gain another premium pick to fill 6 holes instead of 5 in the first 3 rounds. Maybe even score another later pick too, depending on who we traded with and how desperate they were to move up like the Saints were years ago.

#1 is a very strange blitz indeed. Maybe the hope was that the offensive linemen would all crash down on the defensive front and one of the CBs could sneak in there and get the sack. But the 49ers were not fooled. I don't think ANY blitzes got home in this game. Maybe the biggest problem with this one, actually, is that the defenders gave the receiver such a huge cushion.

I think AJ thought Love was going to run and tried to block. On to the draft which is all gravy for us because most of our high priced positions are already filled.

Nice overview, Al.

Karl Brooks is the best Packers player by PFF in that last game. He has word "STAR" on his forehead. I wonder why they do not use him as true DE when they play 4 man front on D. He is true game wrecker.

Regarding that last play from Jordan Love, I think he made unnecessary pressure on himself. He did not look calm, collected and relaxed to me from the very beginning of the game.

I agree that there is no one play, or one player that lost that game. My opinion is that this particular game responsibility for loss goes (surprise surprise) to Barry. Packers needed to prevent 49ers from scoring TD. Field goal was not enough. Packers kept them under the control for 3Qs and than Barry turned well played D to his favorite "preventive D". Many of us long time ago concluded that name of that defense "preventive" means that that D has function to prevent team who apllied it of winning.

That's all!

Play #3 really doesn't bother me that much. I mean, OF COURSE an INT in the final seconds of a playoff game is never good and usually results in a loss, but I can't help smiling at the fact that it was the same way with #4 and #12...
A GREAT Packers QB has gotta be willing to try the impossible from time to time. They have to have enough confidence to try that stupid throw because they BELIEVE in themselves enough to go for it.
I smile at the attitude and confident-cockiness that it takes to be a great Packers QB... and I really think that JLove can be that next GREAT Packers QB...

I also saw the same thing with the routes live. Where was the route or routes in the space in front of the derp cover arc? It wasn’t the only time late on that seemed absent.

Should have ended differently!

This game reminded me of the Seattle game. Getting inside the Red Zone repeatedly, and coming away with FG's, not TD's. That the Packers were there three times, and came away with six points was an indication that this simply wasn't their night. As I commented to my wife, the Packers were dominating in every statistical category, except the only one that counts- the score. And so it goes. And, personally, I'm tired of hearing about how bright the future is for this team. They had a clear path to glory, and choked. Is this a pattern, or an aberration? Because it sure seems like I've seen this before. And it doesn't bode well for the future.

Rain, fatigue, Jet Lag, only 5 days between Cowboys and 9ers, Defense weak in 4th qtr, Love felt he had to make a TD, could not trust Carlson, inexperience.
Love will get better-
-Defense won't (unless Barry leaves)

Barry should just resign-he has become a distraction.

On the last play I wonder, what the call was. Love was looking at an completly open Tucker Kraft coming of a block with plenty of space in front and an open path to the sideline. He easily could have make the throw before rolling of to the right. The defense of SF looked like the Joe Barry one, bringing some pressure and covering the deep routes, but giving way in the 5- 10 yard space.

Nevertheless, it was a super exciting game to watch and really looking forward to next year. Always a pleasure, to read and watch the play reviews on CHTV- keep the great work.

Michael

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Al,
I'm really glad I read this column. I noticed in the game after Zach Tom went out, the Niners pass rush went from non existent to being a real factor. I think a major difference in the game, since for 2/3 of the game Love was calm, cool and performing well as he had for many weeks; but in the last 1/3 of the game he was running around and frazzled, like October Love.

Another great point, I ripped on Jones on that last play for also not running wide after he recovered from stumbling, he would have been a great safety valve and Bosa would have had to choose between him and Love. But he didn't even try to block Bosa, he just stayed behind him meaning he wasn't an option for Love and wasn't helping Love. A significant screw up on what turned out to be the play of the game. So Jones does get a bit of the blame here. I also would like to see Love run more in 2024, after seeing Lamar Jackson, and Brock Purdy in the playoffs. I dont want him to run nearly as much as Josh Allen, but maybe as much as Purdy, who does make some huge plays running on occasion.