Niners, miraculously, pass their “gut check”

This one was part miracle, part courage. A football game that very well could have been lost, and maybe should have been lost but somehow, on a wet field, against an opponent who was a surprise, was a game that the 49ers won.  

Not as well played—full of mistakes and tension, rain falling to add to the scenario—but that was part of the reason the game was so enthralling and nerve-wracking. 

As the best sporting contests inevitably are.

And no less since the Niners, trailing most of the way, pulled out a  24-21 victory over the Green Bay Packers at Levi’s Stadium, rewarding…

Big plays, everywhere and anywhere, not the least which was the 6-yard touchdown burst by Christian McCaffrey with a mere 1:07 remaining that was the difference.

But that wouldn’t have meant much without Dre Greeenlaw’s interceptions or Jake Moody’s field goal in the falling rain or Brock Purdy’s leadership and completion on the final drive.

There was no Deebo Samuel, who was out most of the game with a shoulder bruise. There seemed no way to stop Packers quarterback Jordan Love, who kept finding ways to scramble for yards when he couldn’t find a receiver.

But among the Niners, players and coaches, there was a belief that somehow they, as good teams somehow do, would find a method to end up ahead, reach the NFC Championship and, yes, move one game from the Super Bowl.

“Everybody had a part,” said Kyle Shanahan, who was as relieved as he was delighted.

Purdy missed a few throws, but the cliché is when the weather is difficult and the opponent is stubborn, does a quarterback find a way to bring his team back on top? Purdy did. But obviously, he wasn’t alone.

Asked how he did what was required, completing six of seven passes down the stretch, Purdy, the last pick in the 2022 draft, was quick to credit others. “The defense and everyone.”

The 49ers were the No. 1 seed in the NFC, the Packers No. 17. But Green Bay beat the Dallas Cowboys a week ago in the wild-card round, and the success made them more confident. 

“I knew they were good,” said Shanahan of the Pack, “but not until we started getting ready for them did I realize how deep they were.”

Deep and determined. Packers quarterback Jordan Love kept finding ways to scramble for yards when he couldn’t find a receiver.

The idea of Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur was to keep the football away from the explosive 49er offense and for a while—well, well virtually the entire game—that worked. The Packers opted to receive the opening kickoff—many times teams defer—and thus deny the Niners their chances. 

In the first half Green Bay had the ball 16 minutes 55 seconds of the possible 30.

However, the Niners made some big plays, the Packers missed a big field goal and eventually the better team, off its season record, made it to a fourth NFC title in five years.

A statistic tossed about on television was a Shanahan-coached team trailing by five points or more entering the fourth quarter of any game had lost more than 30 straight. Well, that is no longer pertinent.  

“This was a mental challenge,” said Shanahan, “a gut check.”

The Niners passed. Although, like any big exam, it required a high degree of patience. Did someone just exhale?