Game Thread: Divisional Round Playoff Games

[Jikkle]

I'm just glad the game didn't go into OT after the Niners took the lead on CMac's TD very late in the 4th.
I thought for sure GB was gonna drive down into FG range to tie the game until that 2nd INT by Greenlaw sealed the win.
Also....hope Deebo will be good to go next Sunday...even if it's only in a limited role.

From the reports I've seen Deebo said he's "ok" and he was able to raise both of his arms and take off his t-shirt unlike the Cleveland game when he needed help to put his jacket on after the game.

So remains to be seen if he can play Sunday or not but there is at least room for some optimism in that regard.

9ers get that extra day of rest so that might end up making a difference in his status.

 

[Jikkle]

For someone that grew up a 90s kid it's a bit surreal for me that as someone that watched my 9ers routinely lose to Cowboys in the first half of the 90s and proceed to lose to the Packers in the latter half of the 90s to be 5 and 0 against the Pack since 2012 in the playoffs and owned the Cowboys the prior two playoffs.

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

From the reports I've seen Deebo said he's "ok" and he was able to raise both of his arms and take off his t-shirt unlike the Cleveland game when he needed help to put his jacket on after the game.

So remains to be seen if he can play Sunday or not but there is at least room for some optimism in that regard.

9ers get that extra day of rest so that might end up making a difference in his status.

Sounds good.
Fingers crossed.

 

[Jikkle]

I think it's a reasonable take not to think Purdy is Montana 2.0 and to think he's an average QB propped up by his situation. I don't agree with it but I understand the take and the reasoning behind it.

What I find odd and interesting is the amount of goalposts moving and the standards put on Purdy to dismiss anything that he does.

Brock Purdy went 6-7 for 47 yards with two carries for 11 yards on the final drive so how are some people saying that's not a game-winning drive on his part? Did he need a 99-yard drive, all passing, with all his receivers being backup defensive linemen, and no completetions under 20 yards?

And one criticism of Purdy which I think was fair was people wanted to see him come from behind with some adversity in a meaningful game so wouldn't not playing your best game, not having Deebo a majority of it, and leading your team to a go-ahead game-winning TD count as that.

I also don't think one GW drive is enough to completely erase every Purdy doubt and make him suddenly a clutch all-time QB because it doesn't but weirdly people think all these other great QBs had perfect passer ratings, had terrible coaching, never threw to anyone talented, and never threw to open receivers but every throw was triple covered.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

Well, San Fran sure dodged a bullet on that one. I thought for sure they were gonna find a way to lose. Shanahan was dumb as fuck with his early playcalling, Purdy was the proverbial pumpkin and played terrible but made up for it with the final drive. Can somebody explain to me why Shanahan has Purdy in shotgun throwing seemingly every down when it's a fucking monsoon and Purdy is throwing wobbly ducks all over the yard? Damn lucky the Packers defenders couldn't catch the ball or they do to the Niners what they did to Dak and Dallas. Missed a walk in pick 6 early on. We could easily have a LOL thread about the Niners this morning. But they managed to pull it out in the end and I guess that's all that matters. They had better tighten up though. They didn't look like anybody's favorite to win it all last night.
Condolences to Green Bay fans on the loss but also congrats on a solid season and damned if your boys don't look like a force to be reckoned with in the future. Funny how that isn't as distasteful for me now that it's Love and not Rodgers, lol.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

I think it's a reasonable take not to think Purdy is Montana 2.0 and to think he's an average QB propped up by his situation. I don't agree with it but I understand the take and the reasoning behind it.

What I find odd and interesting is the amount of goalposts moving and the standards put on Purdy to dismiss anything that he does.

Brock Purdy went 6-7 for 47 yards with two carries for 11 yards on the final drive so how are some people saying that's not a game-winning drive on his part? Did he need a 99-yard drive, all passing, with all his receivers being backup defensive linemen, and no completetions under 20 yards?

And one criticism of Purdy which I think was fair was people wanted to see him come from behind with some adversity in a meaningful game so wouldn't not playing your best game, not having Deebo a majority of it, and leading your team to a go-ahead game-winning TD count as that.

I also don't think one GW drive is enough to completely erase every Purdy doubt and make him suddenly a clutch all-time QB because it doesn't but weirdly people think all these other great QBs had perfect passer ratings, had terrible coaching, never threw to anyone talented, and never threw to open receivers but every throw was triple covered.

Fwiw @Jikkle , I've supported Purdy from the get go and agree with what you say. I won't dismiss him and say he is an awful QB who only benefits from talent and scheme ala JimmyG. But last night, despite the late game comeback which was very solid, Purdy was flat out terrible in that game. Granted, the weather was not good but he was damn lucky that that game didn't get away from him on several occasions. We'll see how he bounces back. Obviously, finding a way to win despite playing one of his poorer games is a bonus but he has to be a lot better if you guys are going to have a shot at winning a SB. Now to be fair to Brock, Kyle Shanahan didn't really coach a good game either. In wet weather with arguably a HOF RB who is the best in football and 90% of the reason your team has HFA and he only carries the ball 17 times? Makes zero sense to me. I think Shanny was trying to get too cute and it damn near cost him the game.

 

[Stlducks]

I think it's a reasonable take not to think Purdy is Montana 2.0 and to think he's an average QB propped up by his situation. I don't agree with it but I understand the take and the reasoning behind it.

What I find odd and interesting is the amount of goalposts moving and the standards put on Purdy to dismiss anything that he does.

Brock Purdy went 6-7 for 47 yards with two carries for 11 yards on the final drive so how are some people saying that's not a game-winning drive on his part? Did he need a 99-yard drive, all passing, with all his receivers being backup defensive linemen, and no completetions under 20 yards?

And one criticism of Purdy which I think was fair was people wanted to see him come from behind with some adversity in a meaningful game so wouldn't not playing your best game, not having Deebo a majority of it, and leading your team to a go-ahead game-winning TD count as that.

I also don't think one GW drive is enough to completely erase every Purdy doubt and make him suddenly a clutch all-time QB because it doesn't but weirdly people think all these other great QBs had perfect passer ratings, had terrible coaching, never threw to anyone talented, and never threw to open receivers but every throw was triple covered.

Nick Wright is a troll tbf. He continues to say how terrible Purdy is and now it's his gimmick for attention.

Purdy was bad (like most of the team) for 50 minutes last night but to say that wasn't a GW drive is just trolling.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

Nick Wright is a troll tbf. He continues to say how terrible Purdy is and now it's his gimmick for attention.

Purdy was bad (like most of the team) for 50 minutes last night but to say that wasn't a GW drive is just trolling.

You're right about him trolling Purdy but he also is constantly stumping for Trevor Lawrence and to a lesser extent even Baker Mayfield. He has a draft position bias that is clear and undeniable. Sometimes though, he makes valid points on other QBs like Tua but they are points that most of us are already aware of.

 

[Jikkle]

Fwiw @Jikkle , I've supported Purdy from the get go and agree with what you say. I won't dismiss him and say he is an awful QB who only benefits from talent and scheme ala JimmyG. But last night, despite the late game comeback which was very solid, Purdy was flat out terrible in that game. Granted, the weather was not good but he was damn lucky that that game didn't get away from him on several occasions. We'll see how he bounces back. Obviously, finding a way to win despite playing one of his poorer games is a bonus but he has to be a lot better if you guys are going to have a shot at winning a SB. Now to be fair to Brock, Kyle Shanahan didn't really coach a good game either. In wet weather with arguably a HOF RB who is the best in football and 90% of the reason your team has HFA and he only carries the ball 17 times? Makes zero sense to me. I think Shanny was trying to get too cute and it damn near cost him the game.

He didn't have a good game at all but not going to go as far as terrible either.

He should've been picked at least once and missed on a number of throws but he did have a handful of key throws and when the 9ers needed scores to prevent the game getting out of hand he was part of those scores except one TD drive.

I'm inclined to blame the weather because Love didn't have a great game either and both were missing throws they usually have 0 issues making.

Playcalling was an issue because is seemed like Kyle didn't adjust the game plan to the weather and kept his game plan that was designed around a clear day. He adjusted at halftime which is when you saw more runs with CMC and more in between the tackles instead of trying things more laterally.

I think as long as it doesn't rain on Sunday Purdy will be fine and hopefully Shanahan calls a better game.

 

[Stlducks]

He didn't have a good game at all but not going to go as far as terrible either.

He should've been picked at least once and missed on a number of throws but he did have a handful of key throws and when the 9ers needed scores to prevent the game getting out of hand he was part of those scores except one TD drive.

I'm inclined to blame the weather because Love didn't have a great game either and both were missing throws they usually have 0 issues making.

Playcalling was an issue because is seemed like Kyle didn't adjust the game plan to the weather and kept his game plan that was designed around a clear day. He adjusted at halftime which is when you saw more runs with CMC and more in between the tackles instead of trying things more laterally.

I think as long as it doesn't rain on Sunday Purdy will be fine and hopefully Shanahan calls a better game.

If Shanahan goes back to his regular game plans, we will win no matter what the weather is on Sunday. He just can't help himself with dumb calls in a big game.

 

[Stlducks]

You're right about him trolling Purdy but he also is constantly stumping for Trevor Lawrence and to a lesser extent even Baker Mayfield. He has a draft position bias that is clear and undeniable. Sometimes though, he makes valid points on other QBs like Tua but they are points that most of us are already aware of.

This is the same guy talking about how young Love is, yet Purdy is younger and has not been in the league as long. He's a clown.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

He didn't have a good game at all but not going to go as far as terrible either.

He should've been picked at least once and missed on a number of throws but he did have a handful of key throws and when the 9ers needed scores to prevent the game getting out of hand he was part of those scores except one TD drive.

I'm inclined to blame the weather because Love didn't have a great game either and both were missing throws they usually have 0 issues making.

Playcalling was an issue because is seemed like Kyle didn't adjust the game plan to the weather and kept his game plan that was designed around a clear day. He adjusted at halftime which is when you saw more runs with CMC and more in between the tackles instead of trying things more laterally.

I think as long as it doesn't rain on Sunday Purdy will be fine and hopefully Shanahan calls a better game.

Not to nitpick too much but he had 2 clear int balls that GB defenders dropped and about 3 more that were dangerous. He did make a few great throws like the first down strikes to Jennings and the TD pass to Kittle but he really was off for the vast majority of that game. Some of that can be attributed to the weather for sure. Wet, slick balls are tough to deal with and there was even one replay where he actually was in mid play in the pocket and took the time to wipe his hand off before regripping the ball.
Again, not trying to bash Purdy and hopefully for his sake, he bounces back but January in northern California can be like this. Shanahan having Purdy drop back 39 times is just stupid, imo. Especially when running the ball down people's throat is your bread and butter. They got lucky and come out of it and likely face a lesser opponent again next week but they will have to play a helluva lot better if they want to win a SB. That performance vs the Ravens, Bills or Chiefs likely gets them blown out.

 

[Jikkle]

The game plan probably made sense on a day when rain isn't a factor.

He probably wanted to exploit the weakened LB corp of the Packers so get CMC in some space to the outside and make the LBs make plays. Think I saw a stat sometime during the week that the Packers were one of the worst teams covering RBs catching passes.

Everyone and their mothers knows Shanahan wants to run the ball CMC or not so I get why he just doesn't want to hand the ball off right off the bat when the defenses are zeroed in on stopping it. There is some logic in starting out tossing it over their heads and forcing them to back off than start nailing them with the run

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

The game plan probably made sense on a day when rain isn't a factor.

He probably wanted to exploit the weakened LB corp of the Packers so get CMC in some space to the outside and make the LBs make plays. Think I saw a stat sometime during the week that the Packers were one of the worst teams covering RBs catching passes.

Everyone and their mothers knows Shanahan wants to run the ball CMC or not so I get why he just doesn't want to hand the ball off right off the bat when the defenses are zeroed in on stopping it. There is some logic in starting out tossing it over their heads and forcing them to back off than start nailing them with the run

Yeah, I get that to some extent but it goes against their very nature and identity. Maybe mix it up a little but it was clear from the early going that the weather was a factor and it wasn't working. The thing is that the Niners have Williams, Kittle and Juszczyk and that's where they predominantly run behind. They have shown that they will do that regardless of what a defense does or doesn't do. Is it just my imagination but it seemed there were more runs to the right side last night than usual? Maybe Trent Williams is not 100% and they didn't want to risk him getting injured as he is a key to everything they do. I don't know for sure here. I'm just going by what I watched but 39 drop backs to only 17 carries is really disproportionate, especially in bad weather.
Oh well, I guess we can dissect it all we want. The bottom line is they won and move on to next week and that's really all that matters this time of the year.

 

[NCChiFan]

Well, as someone without a dog in the fight... Was a fun game to watch. Unlike last weekends aweful blowout city event.

 

[Sir Robin Of Camelot]

The worst sports moment of my adult life.

We all have one.

 

[Sir Robin Of Camelot]

Winning ugly is a real thing, y'all....it happens more times than not.
And luck plays a key role as well.

Hope the 49ers do some fine tuning, are slightly more prepared, and will be ready for the NFC title game next Sunday @ Levi's.
And fwiw...also need to pray for some better weather.

Kept thinking to myself during the 1st half… imagine those teams playing at Candlestick in that rain on that shitty field…

 

[DJ]

Today may have a doubleheader of nail biters.

 

[Iggloo]

When you take the "next Favre" hype a little too far

 

[Tainthappening]

When you take the "next Favre" hype a little too far

First question to Love in press conference was that throw and what he saw... noted that play broke down and saw Christian over the middle and tried to make a play and force it in there.

That play was questioned a 2nd time mid way in press conference and if saw pics from play yet and if would do differently. Noted he had not seen pictures yet... but probably better to just throw it away and go to the next down for another chance... a play to learn from for future.

Definitely looked like a Favre throw over the middle.