GREEN BAY – A surgically precise final drive by Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers led the Packers to a walk-off field goal to complete a fourth-quarter comeback for a 33-30 victory over the 49ers on Monday night at Lambeau Field.
Green Bay needed a touchdown with just under two minutes left to tie the score, and then the Packers got the ball back on cornerback Kevin King's interception. Rodgers then drove the offense nearly the length of the field to set up Mason Crosby for the game-winner.
With the win, the Packers improved to 3-2-1 heading into their bye week.
Rodgers finished 25-of-46 for 425 yards with two TDs and no interceptions for a 100.4 passer rating. Three Green Bay receivers went over 100 yards: WR Davante Adams (10-132, 2 TDs), TE Jimmy Graham (5-104) and WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling (3-103). RB Aaron Jones had eight carries for 41 yards to lead the running backs.
For the 49ers, QB C.J. Beathard was 16-of-23 for 245 yards with two TDs and the late pick for a 115.3 rating. WR Marquise Goodwin had four grabs for 126 yards and both scores. RBs Raheem Mostert and Matt Breida combined for 148 rushing yards on 26 attempts.
Here's a recap of all the action:
Packers lead 17-14 after one
The 49ers got the ball first and wasted no time getting on the board, driving 75 yards in seven plays for a touchdown. RB Matt Breida began the drive with a 7-yard run and finished it with a 3-yard plunge into the end zone. QB C.J. Beathard scrambled once for 9 yards and hit passes of 9 and 22 yards to FB Kyle Juszczyk and WR Kendrick Bourne, respectively.
The Packers answered. On their first play from scrimmage, QB Aaron Rodgers found WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling wide open down the far sideline for a 60-yard catch-and-run. RB Aaron Jones ran 16 yards on the next snap, down to the 1. After a loss of 1, the Packers scored on a 2-yard run by RB Ty Montgomery out of an unusual bunch formation. With four receivers all to the left side of the field, Rodgers threw a backward pass to Montgomery, who walked in untouched.
The game was tied at 7 with 9:17 left in the opening quarter.
The Packers just as quickly took the lead. San Francisco DB D.J. Reid fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and the Packers recovered. S Raven Greene forced the miscue and LB James Crawford recovered for Green Bay at the San Francisco 34-yard line.
A 22-yard pass to TE Lance Kendricks put the ball on the 12 but the drive stalled there, and K Mason Crosby was good from 29 yards out to make it 10-7.
San Francisco got one first down on an 8-yard run by Breida, but on the ensuing third down, LB Nick Perry batted down Beathard's pass at the line of scrimmage, forcing a punt.
A 10-yard screen pass to RB Jamaal Williams got the Packers going again, and Rodgers followed with a 54-yard completion to a wide-open TE Jimmy Graham, down to the San Francisco 12. On second down, Rodgers found WR Davante Adams in the back of the end zone for a 9-yard TD, and Green Bay extended its lead to 17-7 with 1:58 left in the quarter.
The 49ers came right back. On the third snap of their next possession, Beathard went deep against a blitz for WR Marquise Goodwin, and he hauled it in for a 67-yard score, and San Francisco was back within 17-14 with 27 seconds left in the opening period.
A 15-yard pass to Kendricks gave the Packers a first down as the quarter expired.
49ers grab 24-20 lead at halftime
The Packers started the second quarter with a 15-yard pass to Adams for a first down near midfield. Jones ran for 13 to the San Francisco 39, but an intentional grounding penalty on Rodgers cost the Packers 14 yards, and Green Bay punted.
But the Packers got the ball right back. On a reception by Juszczyk, S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix knocked the ball out on the tackle, and CB Kevin King recovered at the San Francisco 44.
The Packers lost 6 yards on second down when it appeared a called trick play went awry. A 14-yard pass to Graham set up fourth-and-4 from the San Francisco 38, and the Packers went for it. Rodgers scrambled 6 yards to convert.
An 11-yard pass to Adams moved the chains again, but three straight incompletions brought on Crosby. He was good from 39 yards out, and the Packers led, 20-14, with 7:34 left in the half.
The 49ers scored quickly once again, going 65 yards in three plays. A 26-yard run by RB Raheem Mostert preceded a 30-yard TD pass to Goodwin, and San Francisco led 21-14.
The Packers went three-and-out, as Rodgers was sacked on third down.
Two Mostert runs gained 14, and then Beathard scrambled for 11 yards to convert on third-and-9 for a first down at the Green Bay 34. An illegal shift penalty on the 49ers turned a third-and-2 into third-and-7, but CB Josh Jackson was called for defensive holding, giving San Francisco a first down on the 26.
After Perry batted down another pass, DL Kenny Clark sacked Beathard to make it third-and-16 with 17 seconds left in the half. Breida ran 4 yards up the middle to the 28, and the 49ers used their final timeout with 4 seconds left. K Robbie Gould was good from 46 yards out, extending San Francisco's lead to 24-20 at the half.
49ers still lead by four after three
The Packers started the second half with two runs by Jones for 12 yards. Rodgers scrambled and hit Valdes-Scantling for 30 yards, with the rookie receiver making a nice adjustment on the ball to make the catch. The drive stalled at the San Francisco 33, and Crosby came on to make a 51-yard field goal, pulling the Packers back within a point at 24-23.
The 49ers came back with a 12-yard pass to Goodwin to convert on third-and-5. Back-to-back passes to Pierre Garcon gained 24 to the Green Bay 34, and the Packers stopped it there. Gould was good from 44 yards out to restore San Francisco's four-point lead at 27-23.
The Packers picked up one first down – their first third-down conversion of the night in seven tries – on an 11-yard pass to Graham, but a sack of Rodgers by DL DeForest Buckner killed the next series, and Green Bay punted.
Breida began the 49ers' next drive with a 13-yard run. An 11-yard pass to Kittle and a 10-yard run by Mostert moved the chains twice more.
Packers finish comeback with walk-off FG
Mostert opened the fourth quarter with a 17-yard run for a first down at the Green Bay 30. Beathard overthrew a wide-open Kittle on third-and-4, leading to another try from Gould, who was good from 43 and the 49ers led, 30-23, with 13:08 left.
The Packers converted on third-and-4 with a 21-yard pass to Graham to get across midfield. A 13-yard pass to Valdes-Scantling made it first down on the San Francisco 35. Williams ran twice for 14 and another first down at the 21. Rookie J'Mon Moore's first NFL reception picked up 10 to the 11. On third-and-10, Rodgers scrambled for 7 yards to the 4, and the Packers went for it on fourth down. Rodgers' pass in the end zone for Valdes-Scantling was incomplete, and the 49ers took over with 7:46 to go.
Green Bay's defense got a three-and-out, tackling Garcon a yard short of the first down on a third-down completion. CB Tramon Williams' 6-yard punt return put the Packers on their own 48.
The Packers went three-and-out, though, with Rodgers getting sacked on third down. The fair catch on the punt was at the San Francisco 23.
Green Bay's defense returned the favor with a three-and-out, as LB Clay Matthews got the third-down sack. Williams fair-caught the punt at the Green Bay 42 with 3:00 left.
A 38-yard pass to Adams began the next drive and got the ball to the San Francisco 20. A 4-yard pass to Graham got the ball to the 16, for a third-and-6, at the two-minute warning. Rodgers hit Adams in the end zone for the score, and Crosby's PAT tied the score at 30 with 1:55 left.
A personal foul for a late hit on Packers CB Tony Brown on the kickoff return gave the 49ers the ball on their own 47 to start the next drive. On third-and-3, King intercepted Beathard on a deep ball for Goodwin, and the Packers took over on their own 10 with 1:07 to go.
With the Packers out of timeouts, Montgomery ran for 14 yards on the first play and got out of bounds. On third-and-15, an illegal contact penalty negated a 49ers sack, and the Packers got a gift first down at the 24 with 43 seconds left. Rodgers scrambled for 21 yards to the 45 and spiked the ball with 19 ticks to go.
An 8-yard sideline pass to Adams put the ball on the San Francisco 47 with 15 seconds left, and a back-shoulder throw to rookie Equanimeous St. Brown was good for 19 yards and out of bounds at the 28 with 11 seconds to go. Rodgers found Adams down the far sideline for 19 more yards to the 9, and out of bounds with 6 seconds on the clock. An incomplete pass brought on Crosby with 3 seconds left for 27-yard field goal.
He nailed it. Final: Packers 33, 49ers 30
