I already put all of these into the world, but I wanted to put them here as well. For…posterity? For all you maniacs who want to relive the nightmare? Who knows! But here they are.
Play 1
We’ll start with the end: digging into Aaron Rodgers’ last throw of the night. At the time it was seen as a “hero ball” from Rodgers, but was it? (Spoiler alert: kind of yes but there’s more going on than that.)
Play 2
In the lead-up to this game, I had talked about how the Packers like to isolate Davante Adams on the backside of the play and run a slant. Based on the pre-snap alignment, that’s either the first read or never looked at. Not many teams had taken that away during the season, but I assumed teams would start sliding a defender over once the playoffs hit. “How would the Packers adjust,” I pondered to myself. This play here gave us a look into that thinking.
Play 3
The 49ers had a tremendous defensive gameplan and they carried it out perfect. Aaron Rodgers wasn’t perfect, but this defensive performance would have given anyone problems.
On this play, we look at how the 49ers were showing one thing pre-snap, then taking it away post-snap.
Play 4
Drift/Bang Dig has been a staple in the Packer offense over the last couple of years. It’s exclusively a play action concept, and plays well off the wide zone scheme. The 49ers were able to take away the dig, but the Packers dressed it up with a different concept that gave them answers.
Play 5
One of my favorite shot concept is Mills. It’s a beautiful concept that can be extremely powerful against a two-high look. The problem? Like most shot plays, it needs time, and time was something Rodgers didn’t have on this play. Set up wonderfully, but just didn’t quite have time for it to pay off.