Red Zone Struggles Cost Packers in Loss to 49ers

 By Eric Goska

Head Coach Matt LeFleur and General Manager Brian Gutekunst
oversaw a Green Bay team that exceeded expectations in 2023.
(photos by Eric Goska)

Coming up short is a given for all but one team in the NFL each season.

Saturday night in Levi Stadium, the Packers became the latest to drop out.

Green Bay battled the 49ers from the start, holding the upper hand on the scoreboard more than twice as long as their playoff rival. Only in the closing minutes did the Pack blink, surrendering a touchdown and an interception that allowed San Francisco to escape with a 24-21 win.

With the loss come the what-ifs. What if Darnell Savage had come away with an interception on the 49ers’ first possession? What if Keisean Nixon had done the same late in the third quarter?

Jordan Love

Even better, what if Green Bay had done more in the red zone in the first half?

Jordan Love and the offense ran eight plays inside San Francisco’s 20-yard line in the opening two quarters. While there, they came away with a net of zero yards and had to settle for a pair of 29-yard, Anders Carlson field goals.

Three trips inside the red zone.  Field goals instead of touchdowns.

More was needed if the seventh-seeded Packers hoped to dethrone the top-seeded 49ers.

Green Bay muscled its way into the red zone on each of its first three possessions. It chewed up 175 yards on 24 snaps, a healthy 7.3 yards per play, in getting there.

But each time, San Francisco halted the proceedings.  Each time, the 49ers prevented the Packers from getting even one first down.

• Trip No. 1: A 13-yard pass interference call on cornerback Ambry Thomas gives the Packers a first down at the SF 13. Javon Kinlaw and Chase Young throw Aaron Jones for a 2-yard loss, Deommodore Lenoir halts Ben Sims after a 4-yard reception and Charvarius Ward denies Romeo Doubs in the end zone. Carlson’s field goal puts Green Bay up 3-0.
• Trip No. 2: Jones’ 9-yard burst on second down sets up third-and-one from the SF 14. Young drops Jones for no gain and on fourth down, Love is stuffed by Dre Greenlaw and Arik Armstead. The 49ers turn around and drive 86 yards to go up 7-3.
• Trip No. 3: Love’s 22-yard pass to Doubs brings a first down on the SF 9. Lenoir holds Jones to no gain, Love’s pass to Jones loses two, and No. 10 fails to connect with Tucker Kraft on third down. Carlson’s field goal pulls Green Bay to within one at 7-6.

This lack of success differed from what went down in Dallas. When closing in on the Cowboys’ goal line, the Packers scored four touchdowns while amassing 79 yards on 15 plays.

Those 79 yards were the second most by the Green and Gold in the red zone in a postseason game. Only in dispatching Seattle 42-20 in January 2008 did the team (84 yards) gain more.

Love and Co. improved in the second half, coming away with 24 yards on three red-zone plays. Love collaborated with Bo Melton on a 19-yard TD pass and Jones set up a 2-yard Love-to-Kraft touchdown with a 3-yard run.

Kraft’s TD and Love’s pass to Jones for a two-point conversion put Green Bay ahead 21-14 with five minutes, 23 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The Packers then stayed on top until Christian McCaffrey’s 6-yard run with 1:07 left closed out the scoring.

Love’s interception on an ill-advised throw sealed the deal 33 seconds later.

Until McCaffrey’s touchdown, Green Bay had kept San Francisco out of its red zone. The 49ers first two TDs were long-distance affairs, Brock Purdy to George Kittle for 32 and McCaffery at right guard for 39.

Despite its first-half struggles, Green Bay led for 37 minutes. The 49ers were on top for 15:22.

Seeing Red in the Zone
The five first halves (playoff games only) in which the Packers gained fewer than five yards in the red zone despite running at least three plays there.

   Yards     Plays     Date                       Opponent          Result
      -2             7            Jan. 16, 2016           Cardinals              GB lost, 20-26
       0              8           Jan. 20, 2024          49ers                     GB lost, 21-24
       1              4           Dec. 17, 1944            Giants                   GB won, 14-7
       1              6           Jan. 10, 2010           Cardinals              GB lost, 45-51
       4              4           Jan. 8, 1995             Cowboys               GB lost, 9-35