49ers v Packers: 3 reasons the 49ers won the NFC Championship game

No. 2: Pressure On Rodgers

One of the major successes that the San Francisco 49ers had in both matchups against the Green Bay Packers this season was getting to Aaron Rodgers early and often.

In the first game, according to Pro Football Focus, the 49ers created 25 pressures on Rodgers’ 33 drop backs—apressure rate of 75.7%—and sacked him five times for a loss of 38 yards. On Sunday, those numbers went down, as the Niners only generated 12 pressures on 39 drop backs—a still solid 30.7% pressure rate—and picked up three sacks for 30 yards lost.

A lot of that pressure came early in the game, but as the 49ers lead mounted, the Packers were forced to throw the ball more than they might have wanted to. Many of those plays were quick underneath throws that neutralized some of the defensive line’s productivity.

But rookie edge rusher Nick Bosa, as well as fellow edge rusher Dee Ford and interior linemen DeForest Bucker and Arik Armstead, were all key to the creation of that early pressure. When combined with the success the 49ers offense was having, this quickly suffocated the Packers and their game plan.

The defensive performance on its own wouldn’t have done anything, though, and so the final reason the 49ers won the game is because of what the offense did with their time with the football.