The 49ers cruised to a 37-8 win over the Green Bay Packers, who entered the game as the No. 2 seed in the NFC. It was a thorough domination at Levi’s Stadium by the NFC’s top team as San Francisco moved to 10-1 for the season.
Here’s what we took away from Sunday night:
49ers silence doubters
The 49ers silenced a lot of talk about their weak strength of schedule going into Sunday night. They dominated from start to finish against the Packers and looked like the class of the NFC. In a week where the No. 3-seed Saints struggled to beat the Panthers, the 49ers’ domination of a No. 2-seed Green Bay club really stands out. San Francisco, if anyone still doubted it, is for real.
Another fast primetime start
San Francisco got off to a quick start on Monday Night Football against the Browns in Week 5, and repeated that effort Sunday night against the Packers. Fred Warner forced a fumble on a third-down sack on Green Bay’s first drive that Nick Bosa recovered at the Packers’ 2-yard line. Tevin Coleman scored one play later to give the 49ers a 7-0 lead. They’d eventually go up 10-0 and go up 23-0 by halftime. Getting out to fast starts is ideal, especially against good teams. Green Bay never dug themselves out of the early hole, and the 49ers’ pass rush thrived with the Packers playing from behind.
Defensive line dominant
Speaking of the pass rush, they were sensational all night. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh dialed up some well-timed blitzes, but the defensive line got home plenty on its own. They finished with 5.0 sacks and 10 quarterback hits. There were several other plays where Rodgers had to pull the ball down early and get out of the pocket to evade the rush. Green Bay’s tremendous quarterback finished with just 104 passing yards and a career-worst 3.2 yards per attempt.
George Kittle, y’all
The 49ers’ star tight end was back in the lineup Sunday after missing two games with knee and ankle injuries. He was tremendous with six catches on six targets for 129 yards and a touchdown. His biggest play of the game was a 61-yard touchdown catch to answer Green Bay’s lone score of the game. The 49ers’ are okay without Kittle, but they’re a legitimate Super Bowl contender with him.
Jimmy A+
Jimmy Garoppolo was sensational in the biggest game of the year. He was under duress all night, but never made a bad decision, took a couple sacks and made smart choices to throw the ball away when his protection broke down. He finished 14-of-20 for 253 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. It was the best he’s looked all year from a decision-making standpoint. If the 49ers get that version of Garoppolo every game, they’ll be very difficult to beat.
DB depth shines
The secondary was the biggest question mark on the 49ers’ roster heading into the year. Now it appears to be one of the team’s strong points. Emmanuel Moseley started across from Richard Sherman. Ahkello Witherspoon got some run as well in his first game back at full strength. All three corners were exceptional. So was slot corner K’Waun Williams. Jimmie Ward had two terrific pass breakups, and a tremendous tackle in the red zone to keep the Packers from scoring in the third quarter. Jaquiski Tartt added half a sack to expand the role the secondary played. Shining against Aaron Rodgers isn’t easy, but the 49ers defensive backs were superb in holding Rodgers to his second-fewest passing yards ever in a game he started and attempted at least 15 throws.
