5 most insane Wild Card weekend games in SF 49ers history
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: SF 49ers pull off an ‘Ice Bowl’ win over the Packers in 2014
Final Score: SF 49ers 23, Packers 20
While the Green Bay Packers were the proverbial “playoff thorn” in the Niners’ sides for much of the late 1990s, San Francisco got its vengeance in the postseason in the early 2010s before backing it up again in 2019, although that final bout was in the NFC Championship game.
A year after eliminating Green Bay in the divisional round in 2013, thanks to the mad-running ways from quarterback Colin Kaepernick, head coach Jim Harbaugh and Co. had to travel to a frozen Lambeau Field for a crucial road Wild Card matchup on Jan. 5, 2014, when the kickoff temperature was an icy five degrees Fahrenheit.
Crazy to think there were players playing in short-sleeve shirts, although Harbaugh sure looked bundled up in his puffy khakis.
Kaepernick wasn’t exactly the dominant force like he was the year before, tossing one touchdown against an interception and getting sacked three times. But he was efficient enough while continuing to be a pain in the next on the ground for Green Bay’s defense.
San Francisco’s defense also frustrated Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers enough, too, sacking him four times in the back-and-forth contest before SF 49ers kicker Phil Dawson netted the game-winning field goal as time expired.
“It’s not that cold,” Kaepernick told reporters after the game. “It’s all mental.”
Well, for the Packers it was. And Niners fans watching sure had to be happy they got to enjoy the win from (hopefully) the comfort of a warm venue.