San Francisco 49ers Defeated Green Bay Packers in NFC Championship Game to Advance to Super Bowl LIV
Introduction
On Sunday, January 19th, 2020 the San Francisco 49ers faced off against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC championship game from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The winner of this exciting and highly anticipated match up would represent the NFC in Super Bowl LIV which will be played on Sunday, February 2nd, 2020 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Scoring Summary from NFC Championship Game
The 49ers completely dominated the Green Bay Packers in the first half of this very important football game. The scoring began in the first quarter when the 49ers line opened up a gaping hole for Niners running back Raheem Mostert to rush in a 36 yard touchdown. That run capped off a 6 play 89 yard drive. San Francisco leads 7 to 0 over Green Bay at the conclusion of the first quarter.
Immediately at the start of the second quarter the 49ers hardened veteran place kicker, Robbie Gould, fearlessly drilled a 54 yard field goal to put the Niners up 10 to 0 early. Following the field goal Raheem Mostert ran in a 9 yard touchdown to increase their lead to 17 points. Robbie Gould drilled another field goal kick, this time a 27 yarder, to tack on another 3 to their score. Finally, Mostert scored his third touchdown of the first half with an excellent effort on this 18 yard run. Mostert had an NFL record setting day on his absolutely incredible ground game performance. The San Francisco 49ers went into halftime with a dominating lead of 27 to 0 in front of their home crowd.
The Green Bay team attempted to come back early in the third quarter when their former MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers handed the ball off to running back Aaron Jones for a 1-yard touchdown scamper. The 49ers now led the NFL playoff game 27 to 7. What do you know? Raheem Mostert runs in only his fourth rushing touchdown of the evening. His team now increases their heavy advantage to 34 – 7 which held up through the remainder of the third quarter on this crucial contest.
Jones ran in another 1-yard touchdown rush. This brings the score to 34 – 13 after a failed 2 point conversion. Rodgers then hit his target Jace Sternberger on an 8-yard touchdown reception making it 34 to 20 in favor of San Francisco. The final score of this much anticipated sporting event came on a made field goal from 42 yards out by Robbie Gould. The San Francisco 49ers the game in dominant fashion 37 to 20 putting themselves in Super Bowl LIV against the Kansas City Chiefs (Sunday, February 2nd, 2020 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida).
San Francisco 49ers Super Bowl History
Super Bowl XVI – On Sunday, January 24th, 1982 the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 26 to 21 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. The San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback, Joe Montana, was named the Super Bowl XVI MVP.
Super Bowl XIX – On Sunday, January 20th, 1985 the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Miami Dolphins 38 to 16 at the Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California. The San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback, Joe Montana, was named the Super Bowl XIX MVP.
Super Bowl XXIII – On Sunday, January 22nd, 1989 the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 20 to 16 at the Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Florida. The San Francisco 49ers starting wide receiver, Jerry Rice, was named the Super Bowl XXIII MVP.
Super Bowl XXIV – On Sunday, January 28th, 1990 the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Denver Broncos 55 to 10 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback, Joe Montana, was named the Super Bowl XXIV MVP.
Super Bowl XXIX – On Sunday, January 29th, 1995 the San Francisco 49ers defeated the San Diego Chargers 49 to 26 at the Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Florida. The San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback, Joe Montana, was named the Super Bowl XXIX MVP.
Super Bowl XLVII – On Sunday, February 3rd, 2013 the San Francisco 49ers lost to the Baltimore Ravens 34 to 31 at the Mercedez-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Baltimore Ravens starting quarterback, Joe Flacco, was named the Super Bowl XLVII MVP.
NFC Championship Game Statistics
| Green Bay Passing | ||||||||
| C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | SACKS | QBR | RTG | |
| Aaron Rodgers | 31/39 | 326 | 8.4 | 2 | 2 | 30-Mar | 22.3 | 97.2 |
| TEAM | 31/39 | 296 | 8.4 | 2 | 2 | 30-Mar | -- | 97.2 |
| San Francisco Passing | ||||||||
| C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | SACKS | QBR | RTG | |
| Jimmy Garoppolo | 8-Jun | 77 | 9.6 | 0 | 0 | 8-Jan | 51.6 | 104.7 |
| TEAM | 8-Jun | 69 | 9.6 | 0 | 0 | 8-Jan | -- | 104.7 |
| Green Bay Rushing | ||||||||
| CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | ||||
| Aaron Jones | 12 | 56 | 4.7 | 1 | 11 | |||
| Jamaal Williams | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |||
| Aaron Rodgers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| TEAM | 16 | 62 | 3.9 | 1 | 11 | |||
| San Francisco Rushing | ||||||||
| CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | ||||
| Raheem Mostert | 29 | 220 | 7.6 | 4 | 36 | |||
| Deebo Samuel | 2 | 43 | 21.5 | 0 | 32 | |||
| Tevin Coleman | 6 | 21 | 3.5 | 0 | 5 | |||
| Matt Breida | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |||
| Jimmy Garoppolo | 4 | -1 | -0.3 | 0 | 2 | |||
| TEAM | 42 | 285 | 6.8 | 4 | 36 | |||
| Green Bay Receiving | ||||||||
| REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | TGTS | |||
| Davante Adams | 9 | 138 | 15.3 | 0 | 65 | 11 | ||
| Jimmy Graham | 4 | 59 | 14.8 | 0 | 42 | 5 | ||
| Allen Lazard | 3 | 36 | 12 | 0 | 19 | 4 | ||
| Aaron Jones | 5 | 27 | 5.4 | 1 | 9 | 5 | ||
| Jake Kumerow | 1 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 23 | 1 | ||
| Marcedes Lewis | 2 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 2 | ||
| Jace Sternberger | 2 | 13 | 6.5 | 1 | 8 | 2 | ||
| Geronimo Allison | 2 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 3 | ||
| Tyler Ervin | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 1 | ||
| Jamaal Williams | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| TEAM | 31 | 326 | 10.5 | 2 | 65 | 37 | ||
| San Francisco Receiving | ||||||||
| REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | TGTS | |||
| Deebo Samuel | 2 | 46 | 23 | 0 | 30 | 3 | ||
| George Kittle | 1 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 19 | 1 | ||
| Kendrick Bourne | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 1 | ||
| Raheem Mostert | 2 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 2 | ||
| Emmanuel Sanders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| TEAM | 6 | 77 | 12.8 | 0 | 30 | 8 | ||
| Green Bay Fumbles | ||||||||
| FUM | LOST | REC | ||||||
| Aaron Rodgers | 3 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| TEAM | 3 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| San Francisco Fumbles | ||||||||
| FUM | LOST | REC | ||||||
| DeForest Buckner | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||||
| TEAM | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||||
| Green Bay Defensive | ||||||||
| TACKLES | MISC | |||||||
| TOT | SOLO | SACKS | TFL | PD | QB HTS | TD | ||
| Blake Martinez | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Darnell Savage | 8 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| B.J. Goodson | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Za'Darius Smith | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Adrian Amos | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jaire Alexander | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kingsley Keke | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kyler Fackrell | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Ibraheim Campbell | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Preston Smith | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Will Redmond | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tyler Lancaster | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kenny Clark | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tramon Williams | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jimmy Graham | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dean Lowry | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kevin King | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Allen Lazard | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Josh Jackson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TEAM | 56 | 42 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| San Francisco Defensive | ||||||||
| TACKLES | MISC | |||||||
| TOT | SOLO | SACKS | TFL | PD | QB HTS | TD | ||
| Jaquiski Tartt | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| K'Waun Williams | 7 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Dre Greenlaw | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Fred Warner | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| DeForest Buckner | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Emmanuel Moseley | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jimmie Ward | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Nick Bosa | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Arik Armstead | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Richard Sherman | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kwon Alexander | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ahkello Witherspoon | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Earl Mitchell | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dee Ford | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Solomon Thomas | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Anthony Zettel | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Elijah Lee | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TEAM | 58 | 43 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| Green Bay Interceptions | ||||||||
| INT | YDS | TD | ||||||
| No Green Bay Interceptions | ||||||||
| San Francisco Interceptions | ||||||||
| INT | YDS | TD | ||||||
| Emmanuel Moseley | 1 | 9 | 0 | |||||
| Richard Sherman | 1 | 3 | 0 | |||||
| TEAM | 2 | 12 | 0 | |||||
| Green Bay Kick Returns | ||||||||
| NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD | ||||
| Tyler Ervin | 2 | 29 | 14.5 | 23 | 0 | |||
| TEAM | 2 | 29 | 14.5 | 23 | 0 | |||
| San Francisco Kick Returns | ||||||||
| NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD | ||||
| Richie James Jr. | 2 | 29 | 14.5 | 18 | 0 | |||
| TEAM | 2 | 29 | 14.5 | 18 | 0 | |||
| Green Bay Punt Returns | ||||||||
| NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD | ||||
| No Green Bay Punt Returns | ||||||||
| San Francisco Punt Returns | ||||||||
| NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD | ||||
| Richie James Jr. | 1 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 0 | |||
| TEAM | 1 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 0 | |||
| Green Bay Kicking | ||||||||
| FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS | ||||
| Mason Crosby | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 2-Feb | 2 | |||
| TEAM | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 2-Feb | 2 | |||
| San Francisco Kicking | ||||||||
| FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS | ||||
| Robbie Gould | 3-Mar | 100 | 54 | 4-Apr | 13 | |||
| TEAM | 3-Mar | 100 | 54 | 4-Apr | 13 | |||
| Green Bay Punting | ||||||||
| NO | YDS | AVG | TB | IN 20 | LONG | |||
| JK Scott | 4 | 172 | 43 | 0 | 2 | 62 | ||
| TEAM | 4 | 172 | 43 | 0 | 2 | 62 | ||
| San Francisco Punting | ||||||||
| NO | YDS | AVG | TB | IN 20 | LONG | |||
| Mitch Wishnowsky | 2 | 77 | 38.5 | 0 | 1 | 41 | ||
| TEAM | 2 | 77 | 38.5 | 0 | 1 | 41 |
Media Statements
"I did have a lot of doubters and naysayers," Raheem Mostert explained as he has been cut seven different times throughout his NFL career. "Now I get to actually tell them, 'Look where I'm at now.'
"I never gave up on my dreams."
"It was pretty special," Kyle Shanahan stated after getting handed the NFC Championship trophy from his father Mike Shanahan at the postgame ceremony. "To get a trophy handed to you by anyone is really cool. ... It was pretty cool it happened there at the end."
"It's still kind of surreal," says linebacker Fred Warner. "With the stuff this team has gone through, this organization, it's special. Its the pinnacle of football right here."
"He's so fast," tackle Joe Staley proclaimed. "He's incredibly fast. He's fearless going through the hole. He has trust in the linemen to block it up. He's a great running back."
"The lanes that we saw and the way he was running we just wanted to keep feeding him," Shanahan expressed. "I know he was feeling it. That wasn't too hard to see."
"We just weren't very consistent the first half," Rodgers exclaimed. "Made a couple of mistakes personally that hurt us and kind of let it get away from us."
"Right now, they are the gold standard in the NFC," says Packers coach Matt LaFleur regarding the San Francisco 49ers.
Sources:
“NFC Championship: Play by Play”, espn.com, January 21, 2020.
“Mostert lifts 49ers to Super Bowl with 37-20 win vs Packers”, espn.com, January 19, 2020.
“NFC Championship: Box Score”, espn.com, January 21, 2020
