49ers to face Green Bay Packers in NFC Championship game

The top-seeded 49ers will host the Green Bay Packers at 3:40 p.m. Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in their 14th appearance in the NFC Championship Game since 1980.

That’s because the the No. 2 seed Packers on Sunday beat the Seattle Seahawks, 28-23, Sunday in the Divisional Round at Lambeau Field.

It will mark the second time this season San Francisco hosted Green Bay after winning, 37-8, Nov. 24. The 49ers’ top-ranked passing defense limited Aaron Rodgers to just 81 net passing yards, the fewest of his career, while he took five sacks.

Linebacker Fred Warner set the tone by forcing a fumble from Rodgers on the game’s first third down that Nick Bosa recovered at the 2-yard line and Tevin Coleman scored a touchdown a play later. Tight end George Kittle scored a 61-yard touchdown, his longest of the season, on a long pass from Jimmy Garoppolo.

The Packers on Sunday jumped ahead of Seattle 21-3 in the first half thanks to a 20-yard touchdown pass from Rodgers to star receiver Davante Adams, who also scored a 40-yarder in the second half. Running back Aaron Jones scored from 1 yard out twice, giving the third-year pro his 20th and 21st touchdowns of the season.

It was a dominant first 30 minutes from Green Bay, which outgained Seattle 201-135 and had the advantage in first downs, 15-6.

Seattle battled back in the second half by scoring touchdowns on their first three possessions to make it a 5-point game with 9:33 remaining when Marshawn Lynch scored his second touchdown of the game and Russell Wilson was sacked on the 2-point conversion.

Rodgers (16-27, 243 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, 113.7 rating) completed a crucial third-down to Jimmy Graham at the two-minute warning. Officials gave the Packers the first down and replay upheld the decision, though the Seahawks indicated they believed the spot was well short.

Garoppolo in the matchup in November threw for 253 yards on 14 of 20 completions. His 145.8 passer rating was his best of the season and his 12.65 yards per attempt was second.

The stakes will of course be much higher Sunday, with a berth in the Super Bowl at stake. The 49ers opened as seven-point favorites, according to betonline.ag. Sunday’s conference championship will be a matchup of two closely-tied coaching staffs. Packers first-year coach Matt LaFleur’s brother, Mike, is one of Kyle Shanahan’s most prominent offensive assistants. Matt LaFleur was also a groomsman in 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh’s wedding.

Matt LaFleur was Shanahan’s quarterbacks coach for four seasons when the two were with Washington from 2010 to 2013, and he rejoined Shanahan when he was offensive coordinator with the Atlanta Falcons in 2015 and 2016.

The 49ers, of course, clinched their spot in the conference title game by beating the Minnesota Vikings, 27-10, Saturday in an impressive performance at Levi’s Stadium. San Francisco’s No. 2 ranked defense held Minnesota to just seven first downs and 147 total yards, the fewest allowed in 49ers franchise history.

Kirk Cousins threw for 172 yards but was sacked six times by the home team’s imposing pass rush. Former first-round draft picks Nick Bosa (2.0), Arik Armstead, Dee Ford, DeForest Buckner and Solomon Thomas all recorded sacks. Cornerback Richard Sherman had his third career postseason interception.

Complementing the strong defensive performance, Kyle Shanahan dialed up a season-high 47 rushing attempts to control the tempo of the game. He said the thought during the week was the team that would run the ball 30 times would likely win the game.

Coleman looked refreshed following the first-round bye and rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns. The Vikings rushed just 10 times for 21 yards, the fewest the 49ers allowed this season.

The 49ers, of course, are looking for their sixth Super Bowl championship in team history, which would tie the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers for the most in league history.

This story was originally published January 12, 2020 at 7:03 PM.