Sports

Green Bay defenseless against 49ers’ young QB

CLAYMATTHEWS
Bad night at the office.

CLAYMATTHEWS
Bad night at the office. (AP)

MAN DOWN: Aaron Rodgers, who threw for 257 yards and two touchdowns, looks to the sidelines after being sacked during the Packers’ 45-31 loss to the 49ers last night in San Francisco. (AP)

SAN FRANCISCO — Green Bay’s defense had no answers to stop San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers “read-option” offense last night in their NFC divisional game at Candlestick Park, and it cost them dearly.

The Packers’ inability to contain Kaepernick was their ultimate undoing in a 45-31 loss that ended Green Bay’s season.

Green Bay tried a little bit of everything on defense: Sending five and six-man blitzes with single coverage on the 49ers receivers to pressure Kaepernick, playing a standard four-man rush to limit the pass and having a “spy” at times assigned to chase Kaepernick down as he started to run. In the end nothing worked for Green Bay as the 49ers offense cashed in on numerous big plays with Kaepernick at the helm.

“The couple of times he [Kaepernick] beat us they were big plays and big plays kills you,” Packers safety Charles Woodson said. “If you don’t stop those [big plays] from happening then you have a day like today.”

Kaepernick’s 181 yards on the ground set an all-time NFL record for quarterback rushing yardage in any NFL game, breaking Michael Vick’s record of 173 yards rushing against the Vikings on Dec. 1, 2002. The 183 yards rushing also set an NFL and 49ers team record for most rushing yards in a post-season game for a quarterback. The 49ers also set a team post-season record with 323 yards rushing.

The Packers were flummoxed. Not only did Kaepernick run wild up the gut of the Green Bay defense for 181 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns, he also took advantage of frequent man coverage by the Packers en route to a 17-for-31 passing effort for 263 yards and two touchdowns.

“The game-plan wasn’t to change up a lot from what we had been doing the all year. We didn’t sit here and re-invent the wheel for these guys,” Green Bay linebacker A.J. Hawk said. “We didn’t really have an answer when they were gashing us with running plays.”

Curiously, the Packers rushed so hard on the edges that it often opened up large holes in the middle that Kaepernick gladly exploited when flushed from the pocket by the extra Packers rushers.

“[Kaepernick] is a lot faster than what you see on film,” Packers defensive end Mike Neal said. “He was just able to find holes, to find seams and hit them.”

The first quarter started fortuitously for the Green Bay defense but went downhill from there. After a quick pick-six for a score on a telegraphed Kaepernick pass that Sam Shields returned for a 52-yard touchdown on the game’s fourth play from scrimmage, Kaepernick and the 49ers offense imposed their will for the remainder of the game. Green Bay used a “spy” at times assigned to chase Kaepernick down as he started to run but that didn’t work out. The Packers Clay Matthews did have a sack in the first quarter but otherwise Green Bay’s edge rushers and blitz packages just opened up the middle for Kaepernick to take off and work his magic running. When given protection in the pocket Kaepernick burned the Packers by hitting 49ers receivers often in solo coverage against Packers corners and safeties.

In the first half, Kaepernick ran for 107 yards and one score on 11 attempts and was 11 for 23 passing for 148 and two touchdowns — a 12 yarder and a 20 yarder to receiver Michael Crabtree. Crabtree is by far Kaepernick’s favorite receiver, yet the Packers could not stop the two from connecting nine times for 119 yards.

“It was difficult for players like me because if you rush the passer he [Kaepernick] beats you with feet,” Matthews said. “We thought we had everything [schematically] ready for this game but unfortunately he [Kaepernick] made the key plays.”

In the second half, the Packers defense made some adjustments, dialing down their blitzes and opting for a more standard four-player rush on a more frequent basis but nothing seemed to work.

On the 49ers second possession of the third quarter, Kaepernick ran a read-option quarterback keeper off a fake handoff to the right side and sliced through the Packers secondary virtually untouched for a 56-yard touchdown run and a 31-24 San Francisco lead. On the play, Green Bay’s left outside linebacker Erik Walden lost outside containment as he pivoted inside on the fake handoff allowing Kaepernick to get around the end with ease and down the field for the score.

“He [Kaepernick] just got a step on me,” Walden said. “A quarterback like that in the open with all that space, once he gets at step on you it’s pretty much over.”

Later in the third quarter with the Packers rushing four defenders, Kaepernick hit streaking tight end Vernon Davis who had a few steps on Hawk. San Francisco’s 44-yard gain to Green Bay’s 14-yard-line set up another 49ers’ touchdown for a 38-24 49ers lead.

A starter in the final seven games of the regular season, Kaepernick, rushed for five scores and 10 touchdowns coming into the Packers game. Kaepernick’s performance in his first postseason game as a starter clearly justifies 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh’s decision to start him over former 49ers starting quarterback Alex Smith and is no doubt a performance the Packers defenders will not soon forget.

“When a quarterback sets a postseason record on you, it’s a pretty bad night,” Packers nose-tackle B.J. Raji said. “Usually when a quarterback has a night like that it is not going to end well for you.”