While coach Matt LaFleur said it wasn’t one play that cost the Packers on Saturday night, a missed field goal by the inconsistent Anders Carlson in the fourth quarter proved costly in what was ultimately a season-ending 24-21 loss to the Niners.
Anders Carlson desperately wanted another shot, but a Jordan Love interception on the final drive of Saturday night’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC divisional round meant the Green Bay Packers kicker will have a 41-yard missed field goal in the fourth quarter to think about as he enters the offseason.
Had it gone through the uprights, the kick would have given the Packers a seven-point lead with 6:18 left — and Christian McCaffrey’s touchdown for San Francisco with 1:07 to play would have only tied the game at 24.
Instead, it was enough for the 49ers to pull out a 24-21 victory at a rain-soaked Levi’s Stadium that ended the Packers season in Santa Clara, California.
“I felt like we had plenty of opportunities to kind of put the game out of reach and unfortunately just didn’t do enough,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “And it’s never one play, ’cause I’m sure a lot of it’s going to come down to the missed field goal, but there were plenty of opportunities. You can go back in the first half and have three red-zone opportunities and have six points. There’s a lot of plays out there that it just, if one plays goes different, then probably have a different result right now.”
The results for Carlson, a rookie out of Auburn, often had been the same. It was his 13th missed kick (field goal or extra point) this season, including playoffs.
