49ers Escape Pack

History said the 49ers were in trouble when they entered the fourth quarter trailing.

The 49ers were 0-30 under Kyle Shanahan when trailing by seven or more points after three quarters, losing by an average of 14.3 points. Quarterback Brock Purdy had led only one fourth quarter comeback in his career, a 37-34 overtime victory over the Raiders in Week 17 of the 2022 season.

But Christian McCaffrey scored on a 6-yard run with 1:07 remaining, delivering a 24-21 win over the upset-minded Packers on a rainy night in Santa Clara. The 49ers will host the NFC Championship Game next Sunday.

The Packers outplayed the 49ers for most of the night, but unlike last week when the Cowboys disappeared, San Francisco hung around.

Packers rookie Anders Carlson, who made two field goals of 29 yards, missed a 41-yard field goal attempt with 6:18 remaining. The 49ers then drove 69 yards in 12 plays, burning 5:11 off the clock. Packers coach Matt LaFleur, who had three timeouts, inexplicably didn’t call one after a Purdy scramble with 1:55 left, allowing another 40 seconds to run off the clock.

So, the Packers had only 1:07 left to try to drive into field goal range to send the game in overtime.

The Packers drove 11 yards to their own 36 with 52 seconds remaining, but 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw intercepted Jordan Love for a second time. Greenlaw’s 18-yard return got the clock under 40 seconds, allowing Purdy to kneel down once to end it.

In a back-and-forth game that had five lead changes, the 49ers outgained the Packers 356 to 330 despite playing most of the game without Deebo Samuel. The 49ers receiver injured his left shoulder with 5:18 remaining in the first quarter.

Purdy went 23-of-39 for 252 yards and a touchdown as he struggled to grip the wet football. George Kittle caught four passes for 81 yards, and McCaffrey had 17 carries for 98 yards and two touchdowns and caught seven passes for 30 yards. Jauan Jennings, subbing for Samuel, caught five passes for 61 yards.

Love went 21-of-34 for 194 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, with Romeo Doubs catching four for 83.

For the first time in 51 games, the 49ers allowed a 100-yard rusher as Aaron Jones ran for 108 yards on 18 carries.

The Packers went only 2-of-5 in the red zone, settling for two chip-shot Carlson field goals and getting stopped on fourth-and-one on another drive in the first half. They trailed 7-6 at halftime.