Two words can sum up the Week 12 matchup between the visiting San Francisco 49ers and the host Green Bay Packers: utter domination.
The Packers cruised to a 38-10 victory, marking the franchise’s largest win against the 49ers ever, including the postseason. They forced three turnovers — a co-league-leading seventh interception by safety Xavier McKinney and two fumble recoveries — one on a strip-sack and the other at the end of a Christian McCaffrey catch-and-run. Green Bay possessed the football by nearly double the amount of time (36:43 to 23:17). San Francisco very much looked like a team missing starting quarterback Brock Purdy (shoulder) and 2022 NFL Defensive Player of the Year edge rusher Nick Bosa (hip/oblique).
Green Bay’s backfield of quarterback Jordan Love and running back Josh Jacobs took turns cooking the San Francisco defense. Love racked up 163 yards and two touchdowns — an 11-yarder to tight end Tucker Kraft and a three-yarder to wide receiver Malik Heath — on 13 of 23 passing, while Jacobs rumbled for 106 yards and three touchdowns (all from one yard out) on 26 carries. He is the first Packers player with 100-plus rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in a game since Ryan Grant in the 2007 NFC Divisional Round vs. the Seattle Seahawks. Jacobs is also the first 100-yard rusher against the 49ers in the last 55 games, the first since then-Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields in 2021. The 2022 NFL rushing champion is the first player with at least 100 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns against the 49ers since then-Atlanta Falcons Pro Bowl running back Devonta Freeman.
Recently acquired kicker Brandon McManus also drilled his longest field goal as a Packer, a 51-yarder, in between Love’s and Jacobs’ first touchdowns on the team’s first and third drives of the game, respectively.
San Francisco struggled against the Packers, but it also beat itself. The 49ers committed nine penalties for 77 yards, including a holding penalty on the opening kickoff of the second half that negated a Deebo Samuel return that went all the way down to the Packers 8-yard line. Backup quarterback Brandon Allen struggled to find his footing, throwing for 199 yards, a touchdown on a three-yarder to tight end George Kittle, an interception and a lost fumble on 17 of 29 passing. McCaffrey stumbled to 31 rushing yards on 11 carries while also adding 37 receiving yards on three catches. Kittle was the 49ers’ lone bright spot, catching all six of his targets for 82 yards and a touchdown.
Why the Packers won
Green Bay didn’t play with its food. Playing a depleted 49ers, all the Packers had to do was play efficient, clean football, and that’s exactly what they did. They entered Week 12 with a 48.7% red zone touchdown percentage, the sixth-worst in the NFL. On Sunday, the Packers were perfect, turning all five of their red zone drives into touchdowns. Love snapping his eight-game interception streak and Green Bay winning the turnover battle 3-0 also played a major role.
Why the 49ers lost
They lacked critical firepower on both sides of the ball. San Francisco also committed multiple ill-timed penalties over and over again (nine for 77 yards). They had consecutive 12-men-on-the-field infractions and a number of key holding calls that erased big runs and returns. The 49ers’ key playmakers who were out there outside of Kittle, McCaffrey and Samuel also came up small when their team desperately needed them to ball out.
Turning point and play of the game
On a 49ers third-and-8, Packers safety Xavier McKinney made the game-sealing play. San Francisco was driving and still within 10 points in the third quarter when quarterback Brandon Allen’s throw to Deebo Samuel over the middle was high. It bounced off Samuel’s finger tips, and McKinney was lurking behind the play in coverage and corralled the football. He then ran it back 48 yards, all the way down to the San Francisco 26-yard line. The Packers took over just outside the red zone up 10 with six minutes left in the third quarter. Four plays later, Jacobs was in the end zone for his second touchdown of the day. Regaining that 17-point lead at that point felt like a kiss of death for San Francisco, and it was.
What’s next
The Packers (8-3), winners in six of their past seven games, will remain in Green Bay to host the 5-6 Miami Dolphins, winners of three in a row, on Thanksgiving Night in Week 13. The 49ers (5-6) will head east to face the 9-2 Buffalo Bills on “Sunday Night Football” in Week 13.
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