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.
