On to Miami: How the 49ers defense helped send the team to Super Bowl
In the first half of Sunday’s NFC Championship game against the Packers, the 49ers played lights-out defense.
They held the Packers to 93 net yards, got after Aaron Rodgers, bottled up the run game and led 27-0 at Levi’s Stadium. It led to a 37-20 victory and a berth in the Super Bowl in Miami against the Chiefs.
But as strong as the defense was in the first half, it was pushed around in the second. The 49ers allowed three touchdowns and 265 net yards. But then Richard Sherman came to douse any hopes of a wild Packers comeback. Sherman intercepted Aaron Rodgers with 1:48 left in the fourth quarter, allowing San Francisco to run out the clock. This is the same player who six years ago to the date deflected a pass to end the 49ers season in the NFC Championship game while he was a member of the Seattle Seahawks.
Oh, how the tables have turned. 49ers fans lived to see the day when Sherman became the hero. Now Sherman and the 49ers will play a final game Feb. 2.
“This team is incredibly talented,” Sherman said. “(The difference now is) I am just a little bit older. They call me uncle now and back then, they didn’t call me uncle. In year nine, it’s a different feeling. My son gets to see me play and go to the Super Bowl now. (My son’s) birthday is three days after the Super Bowl and he wants a ring for his birthday.”
San Francisco’s defense forced three turnovers. DeForest Buckner recovered a fumble on a bad snap with 5:40 left in the second quarter and Emmanuel Moseley, who started in Ahkello Witherspoon’s usual cornerback spot, had an interception late on the next drive.
“The ball was hiked and all of a sudden, I saw something drop,” Buckner said. “I looked down and said oh snap, the ball is out. I was just trying to make sure I had the ball. I was in the right place at the right time.”
The pass rush showed up too.
Arik Armstead, Nick Bosa and K’Waun Williams all had one sack each. Williams’ sack resulted in a fumble but was recovered by the Packers. They provided pressure on Rodgers, especially in the first half.
“You have to bring some exotic pressures on him,” Bosa said. “They have a really good offensive line in pass protection so you have to do a couple of things to mix it up. I am glad we got that lead in the first half because (Aaron Rodgers) is dangerous. I am just happy to be moving on.”
Rodgers passed for 215 of his 326 yards in the fourth quarter as his team trailed 34-7. After scoring touchdowns on back-to-back possessions, San Francisco added a 42-yard field goal to make it a three-score game.
The Packers’ defense couldn’t stop the 49ers run game. The dangerous Green Bay defensive line led by Preston and Za’Daruius Smith was held in check. Kyler Fackrell had Green Bay’s lone sack. Running the football 42 times for 285 yards neutralized the Packers’ pass rush.
Having the first-round bye week and getting healthy at the right time has been key for a defensive unit that dominated the first half of the season.
“Having the guys back who came back from injury brings the chemistry and dominance back (in our defense),” Buckner said.
This story was originally published January 19, 2020 at 9:16 PM.