Published 12:47 IST, January 20th 2020
Mostert lifts 49ers to Super Bowl with 37-20 win vs Packers
Raheem Mostert rushed for 220 yards and the 49ers (15-3) advanced to their first Super Bowl in seven years and will play the Kansas City Chiefs in two weeks in Miami for the championship.
Raheem Mostert rushed for 220 yards and the 49ers (15-3) advanced to their first Super Bowl in seven years and will play the Kansas City Chiefs in two weeks in Miami for the championship.
It's been a remarkable turnaround for a team that won just 10 games in the first two seasons under coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch and had the No. 2 pick in the most recent draft.
Now, San Francisco is one of two teams left standing after delivering a second thorough beating of the season to Rodgers and the Packers (14-4). The Niners are the third team to make it to the Super Bowl a year after winning four or fewer games, joining Cincinnati (1988) and the Rams (1999).
Bosa, the prize for last year's rough season as the No. 2 overall pick, helped set the tone when he ended Green Bay's second drive of the game with a
Mostert, a former special teams standout, did much of the rest in a remarkable redemption story for a former surfer who was cut seven times and carried the ball only eight times in his first three seasons in the NFL.
But he has become a key part of the NFC's top team this year, leading the Niners with 772 yards rushing in the regular season and delivering a performance for the ages in the NFC title game.
He had the second-most yards rushing in a playoff game to Eric Dickerson's 248 for the Rams on Jan. 4, 1986, and was the first player to rush for at least four TDs and 200 yards in a playoff game.
He got started when he
He
Mostert added a 22-yard TD run in the third quarter.
Rodgers and the Packers were unable to match that performance as they got overwhelmed by San Francisco's dominant front for a second time this season.
Rodgers had a career-low 3.15 yards per attempt in a 37-8 loss here back in November and wasn't much better in the first half of the rematch.
He
Rodgers capped that drive with a
He led Green Bay to two more TDs and finished with 326 yards passing, but it wasn't nearly enough as the Packers lost the NFC title game for the third time since their last Super Bowl trip following the 2010 season.
QUIET DAY
The Niners asked very little of Garoppolo, who threw only eight passes thanks to the big-play running game and lopsided score. He went 24 minutes of game time between his sixth and seventh passes and finished with six completions for 77 yards.
PASSING FAVRE
Rodgers' two TD passes gave him 40 in his playoff career, breaking Brett Favre's franchise record of 39. Rodgers also has seven straight playoff games with at least two TD throws, one shy of Joe Flacco's record.
INJURIES
Packers: S Adrian Amos left after injuring his pectoral muscle in the first half. ... CB Jaire Alexander left in the second half with a thumb injury.
49ers: RB Tevin Coleman left in the first half with a shoulder injury.
UP NEXT
49ers: The team's seventh appearance in the Super Bowl against the Chiefs on Feb. 2.
Updated 12:47 IST, January 20th 2020