Defense Kicks Niners’ Offense When It’s Down

The Green Bay Packers' defense took care of business against an offense staggered by injuries and a lack of preparation.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – After suffering bruised bodies and egos last week against the Minnesota Vikings, the Green Bay Packers’ defense was handed the perfect elixir.

The San Francisco 49ers.

Due to injuries, the 49ers were expecting to be without quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, running back Raheem Mostert, tight end George Kittle and receiver Deebo Samuel, among others. Then, calamity struck. On Wednesday morning, receiver Kendrick Bourne tested positive for COVID-19.

With that, coach Kyle Shanahan’s team was sent home for a day of virtual meetings.

“It was right back to quarantine, basically, at home,” Shanahan said after the Packers beat his team 34-17 on Thursday night in Santa Clara, Calif. “I was there with my family, still homeschooling. It seemed like I went back in time three months ago and did everything from there. I went back into my office that was set up from the draft and did all the red-zone stuff and at least was able to meet with the guys through Zoom and everything like we did in the offseason.”

After those meetings, the dire situation turned worse. Left tackle Trent Williams and receiver Brandon Aiyuk were deemed high-risk close contacts and would no longer be allowed to play. Williams is Williams – a rock at left tackle. Without Samuel, much of the passing game was supposed to flow through first-round pick Aiyuk.

“There’s not enough time to change everything,” Shanahan said. “It’s the night before the game and guys weren’t practicing any ways because of the short week. So, we just got the receivers, reshuffled them and we walked through a lot last night and I think [receivers coach] Wes [Welker] grabbed a couple of them and walked through today before the game.”

Against that backdrop, the 49ers didn’t have a prayer – even against a Packers defense with its own issues.

San Francisco’s first seven drives produced as many three-and-outs as points (three). Green Bay, which entered the week tied for last in the NFL in takeaways, produced a couple of turnovers that turned the game into a rout.

The game turned early in the second quarter. With San Francisco facing a third-and-16, Preston Smith bulldozed backup left tackle Justin Skule right into the lap of backup quarterback Nick Mullens. Raven Greene’s interception set up a touchdown that put the Packers up 14-3.

“Oh, man, that got us fired up,” Za’Darius Smith said. “We got hyped off of that, because P been talking about rushing for a while, as you guys know. He's been dropping a lot, but for him to get that pressure, man, and come back to the sideline and have a turnover play like that, that was big for us, and that set the tone for us as a defense to go out there and be dominant.”

Midway through the third quarter, with Green Bay in total command at 28-3, Smith beat Skule for a sack, strip and recovery.

With the Packers leading 31-3, coach Matt LaFleur cleared the bench. In what essentially was a backups-vs.-backups scrimmage in garbage time, the 49ers drove to touchdowns of 80 and 75 yards. Those 155 yards represented almost half of the Niners’ total output of 337 yards.

To be sure, a mostly dominant performance comes with an asterisk. But it beats the alternative.

Said a smiling Smith: “Good, man. Six and two, man. Happy.”