There are good days at the office, and there are bad days. Then there’s the day that the Packers special teams had on Saturday night against the 49ers.
With snow falling and temperatures dropping, the San Francisco offense never touched the end zone during the divisional round matchup, but somehow emerged with a 13–10 win on a walk-off field goal by Robbie Gould on the final play of the game. The 49ers were able to be in that position thanks to several special teams breakdowns throughout the game, highlighted by a blocked Mason Crosby field goal attempt at the end of the second quarter and a blocked punt returned for a game-tying touchdown with under five minutes left in the game.
A performance like that would be enough for the infamy record books, but this Green Bay unit knew that it needed a stellar finishing move to cap off the night. So, as Gould lined up for his fateful kick, the Packers sent just 10 men onto the field to attempt a block.
The three plays highlighted above overshadow a perhaps just as consequential special teams letdown earlier in the second half, when the Packers allowed all-purpose star Deebo Samuel to return the kickoff 45 yards to midfield. That set up San Francisco’s first score of the game on a 29-yard field goal by Gould, which put the 49ers in position to tie the game in the fourth quarter on the blocked punt.
The Packers have now strung together three straight 13-win seasons with no Super Bowl appearances to show for it. Falling short each time is brutal, but doing so this year with such an abysmal string of self-inflicted miscues on special teams adds an extra layer of sting to what will be a long offseason in Green Bay.
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