NFC Championship Live Blog: 49ers Run Wild vs. Packers and Advance to Super Bowl LIV
Raheem Mostert shuffled between six different NFL teams in his first two seasons in the league. But on Sunday in the NFC Championship, Mostert made sure he'll be remembered going forward. The five-year veteran ran for 220 yards and four touchdowns as the San Francisco 49ers' rushing attack knifed through the Green Bay Packers to win 37-20.
Jimmy Garoppolo threw just eight pass attempts and completed six of them, finishing the game with just 77 yards, but the Niners led 23-0 at halftime and never looked back.
The 49ers offense dominated the Packers during the game's opening two quarters, rushing for 185 yards and three touchdowns. Mostert slashed the Green Bay defense for 160 first half yards and all three scores in the first 30 minutes. And in the end, the Niners ran for 285 yards as a team.
Trailing 27-0 at halftime, Green Bay has just 93 total yards and two costly turnovers through the game's opening quarters. Aaron Rodgers completed his first nine passes, but he ended the half with three misses, including an interception with 1:01 to go in the half that led to the Niners' third touchdown of the game.
Rodgers finished with 326 passing yards and two touchdowns. His final pass of the game was intercepted.
The 49ers are now headed to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2013. They will face the AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs, who ended their 50-year Super Bowl drought by beating the Titans.
Review the action by reading Sports Illustrated's live blog below and be sure to check out our PackersMaven and 49ersMaven sites for more coverage. All times are in Eastern Time.
9:44 p.m. - 49ers win the NFC Championship
Jimmy Garoppolo has kneeled three times and the San Francisco 49ers are headed to Super Bowl LIV.
9:41 p.m. - Aaron Rodgers' last pass of the season is intercepted, 49ers start to celebrate
Aaron Rodgers' final pass of the NFC Championship is intercepted by Richard Sherman as the Packers QB overthrows Davante Adams on a deep pass. On the sideline, the 49ers start to celebrate.
9:32 p.m. - Gould extends 49ers' lead to 17
With just 3:31 to go in the game, San Francisco kicker Robbie Gould extended his team's lead to 17. The Packers are out of timeouts and now down three possessions.
The 49ers are just three-plus minutes away from punching a ticket to Super Bowl LIV.
9:22 p.m. - Green Bay starts using its timeouts in an attempt to stop the clock
49ers TE George Kittle drew a pass interference penalty on a crucial third down and one play later, the Packers started using their timeouts to try and stop the clock. For a brief second, it looked as if the Packers had a glimmer of hope as they tried to mount a comeback, but it seems that San Francisco will hold on.
9:15 p.m. - Rodgers keeps Packers alive as Green Bay scores third TD
The Packers now trail by just 14 after Rodgers hit TE Jace Sternberger in the end zone for an eight-yard TD. The big play on that drive was a 65-yard catch by Davante Adams.
Adams set a new franchise postseason record with 160 receiving yards and two TDs against the Seahawks, but has been held in check for the majority of Sunday's game. The Niners are still in command, leading by 14 points with 8:13 to go in the game, but things are more interesting than they were a few minutes ago.
8:59 p.m. - Jones scores second TD after long Graham catch.
Green Bay won't go down quietly. Aaron Jones scored his second TD of the half one play after Rodgers hit TE Jimmy Graham for a 43-yard pass that brought GB down to the 1-yard-line. GB went for two, but didn't get it. The 49ers lead 34-13 with 14:35 to play.
8:52 p.m. - Packers still trail by 27 after three quarters
There are now only 15 minutes left in the NFC Championship. While Green Bay is again over midfield and looks to cap off its second scoring drive, the Packers still trail by 27 points after three quarters.
8:40 p.m. - Mostert scores his fourth TD
Mostert had eight touchdowns during the 2019 regular season. He has half of that through just over a half in the NFC Championship. Mostert ran for a 22-yard score with 4:49 to go in the third quarter. He now has 196 yards on 19 carries, the yards being a San Francisco postseason record. If he scores another rushing TD in the game, Mostert will tie an NFL single-game postseason record for rushing touchdowns.
The Niners now lead 34-7. Jimmy G still has only thrown just six passes.
In injury news, the Packers also announced that CB Jaire Alexander is questionable to return with a thumb injury.
8:26 p.m. - The Packers are on the board
Green Bay scored on its first possession of the second half as Rodgers found running back Aaron Jones for a nine-yard touchdown pass.
The third-year running back rushed for 1,084 yards, caught 49 passes for 474 yards and totaled 19 scores this season. But he has largely been held in check throughout Sunday's game. Still a step in right direction for the Packers.
8:16 p.m. - Tevin Coleman ruled out for remainder of the game
Coming out of the locker room, 49ers RB Tevin Coleman was downgraded to out for the game with a shoulder injury.
Even without Coleman, the Niners ran for 185 yards in the first half.
8:04 p.m. - The 49ers take a 27-0 lead into the locker room
San Francisco dominated the first half and leads 27-0 at halftime. They led 23-0 nothing at the break when the team's met earlier this season.
Niners legend Jerry Rice has been loving every minute of the first half.
7:58 p.m. - Mostert scores his third TD of the first half
The 49ers now lead 27-0 as Raheem Mostert just scored his third TD of the first half. Green Bay is searching for answers, but can't find any.
Jimmy Garoppolo has thrown just six passes in the first half, but the Niners have run for 185 total yards. Mostert has 160 of those and is averaging 11.4 yards per carry.
7:53 p.m. - Rodgers throws an interception, 49ers in immediate scoring position
Things are continuing to get worse for the Packers. One series after fumbling a snap, Rodgers threw an interception to 49ers DB Emmanuel Mosley. Rodgers hadn't thrown an incomplete pass until Green Bay's most recent series, but he threw an incomplete check down pass and the aforementioned interception on consecutive passes.
The 49ers lead 20-0. They are looking for more.
7:45 p.m. - 49ers knocking on the door again
With two minutes to go until halftime, the 49ers are again in the Packers' red zone. The Niners offense has accumulated almost 200 yards and run 26 plays thus far.
Green Bay trailed 23-0 at halftime when the two teams met in Week 12. This halftime margin will be very similar.
7:40 p.m. - Raheem Mostert can't be stopped
Mostert has already scored two TDs, but he just had maybe his best run of the game thus far, knifing through the GB defense for 34 yards. Mostert is already over 100 yards for the contest. SF is looking to strike again.
7:36 p.m. - Green Bay's most promising drive yet ends in a turnover
In need of some points, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense was marching down the field. But a botched center-quarterback exchange led to Rodgers mishandling the snap and losing the football. The Niners' DeForest Buckner recovered on the 25-yard-line. A potential San Francisco score could make things get out of hand really quickly.
7:28 p.m. - Mostert increases SF's lead to 17-0
The Packers have dug themselves an early hole. 49ers RB Raheem Mostert scored his second touchdown of the game with 9:12 to go in the second quarter.
The rush helped SF get over the 100-yard rushing plateau. Green Bay trails 17-0.
7:27 p.m. - RB Tevin Coleman gets taken off the field in a golf cart
Niners RB Tevin Coleman had six carries by the 9:32 mark of the second quarter, but he left the game on a golf cart with an elbow injury.
7:13 p.m. - 49ers kicker Robbie Gould nails a 54-yard try
San Francisco kicker Robbie Gould stretched his team's lead to 10-0 to open the second quarter. The make was Gould's first successful field goal on a 50-yard or longer attempt this season.
7:10 p.m. - Jimmy G brought down as first quarter ends 7-0
The Packers D responded to giving up a long TD run, sacking Jimmy Garoppolo to end the first quarter. SF outgunned GB 98 yards to 29 yards in the first quarter.
7:02 p.m. - Rodgers sacked as GB punts for a second straight possession
The Niners look very fast early in this game. SF's defense got after Rodgers on Green Bay's second offensive possession as Nick Bosa sacked the GB signal-caller on third-and-7 for a 13-yard loss. 49ers punt returner Richie James returned the ensuing punt 26-yards all the way to the San Francisco 49-yard-line.
The sacked meant that GB became 0 for their last 15 on third downs against the 49ers with Aaron Rodgers in the game.
6:55 p.m. - 49ers RB Raheem Mostert knifes through GB defense for a TD
San Francisco rode the run game to the NFC Championship, rushing for 186 yards on 47 carries last week over Minnesota. In the 2019 regular season, they finished with the second-most rushing yards and most rushing touchdowns in the NFL.
On Sunday, they got onto the scoreboard first because of their rushing attack. RB Raheem Mostert took a third down carry 36 yards to the house, exploding through an opening running lane and avoiding Packers defenders in the defensive backfield.
6:47 p.m. - Packers punt near midfield after opening drive stalls
The Packers forced the 49ers to punt on their first possession of the game. After picking up a first down, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers' offense was held near midfield and was forced to punt the football back to SF. Rodgers completed each of his three pass attempts on the game's first possession.
6:40 p.m. - Packers win toss, defer
Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers will get the football first after the Packers won the toss and elected to defer. Will San Fran be able to get out to an early lead?
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