Packers’ Season Ends with 49ers’ Block Party in NFC Divisional Playoffs - Sports Illustrated

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers spoke to the media following Green Bay's divisional round loss to San Francisco.Show more

Subscribe to the Packers More Packers NFL #GreenBayPackers #Packers #NFL GREEN BAY, Wis. – Special teams, the Green Bay Packers’ weakness all season, has sent them into the bitter cold of the offseason.

For the fourth time, Aaron Rodgers’ Super Bowl dreams were extinguished by the San Francisco 49ers. In previous years, it was Colin Kaepnerick and Raheem Mostert. On Saturday, it was Jordan Willis and Talanoa Hufanga combining to shock the Packers. Robbie Gould’s 45-yard field goal on the final play ended Green Bay’s season.

With the Packers nursing a 10-3 lead with 4:41 remaining, Willis blocked Corey Bojorquez’s punt. Nobody could find the ball in the snow other than Hufanga, a rookie from USC, who scooped up the loose ball and returned it 6 yards for the tying touchdown.

The Packers’ ensuring possession, like so many before them, went nowhere. The 49ers then drove the field for Gould’s field goal. Deebo Samuel’s 9-yard run on third-and-7 was the back-breaker. On the field goal, Gould struck the ball and immediately sprinted forward toward the end zone, his arm in the air, his index finger raised.

The 49ers celebrated a remarkable victory. The Packers trudged off the field following yet another blown opportunity to win the franchise's 14th world championship. Every playoff loss stings. This one might sting a bit more, with the Packers having homefield advantage, their beloved winter weather and a relatively healthy roster. Everything was in their favor, and none of it mattered.