49ers break unbelievable streak under Kyle Shanahan with comeback win over Packers

The San Francisco 49ers won a thrilling come-from-behind victory against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night in the divisional round of the playoffs.

It was not always pretty, and the Niners played far from a clean game. But in the end, they got it done.

In the process, they broke a streak that has dogged head coach Kyle Shanahan ever since he took over as San Francisco's head coach in 2017.

49ers finally win a game under Kyle Shanahan after entering 4th quarter with a 5-plus point deficit

When you think about the stat that the 49ers were 0-30 under Shanahan entering the fourth quarter of games when they were trailing by five points or more entering Saturday's contest, it truly is remarkable.

The Niners have become one of the most dominant teams in the NFC under Shanahan and have developed a high-powered offense, so you would think at least once they would have been able to come back in the final frame of regulation.

Alas, it finally happened against the Packers.

Of course, it is a bit of a technicality because the fourth quarter opened with kicker Jake Moody nailing a 52-yarder to trim the lead to four points. But San Francisco returning from four points down in the fourth quarter still feels like a momentous development.

It's not a coincidence that it occurred with Brock Purdy under center. This is not a knock on former 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, but Purdy was essentially perfect in the fourth quarter for San Francisco against Green Bay.

Purdy's only two incompletions in the quarter came when he and wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud, who was only in the game due to the injury to Deebo Samuel, were not on the same page on a third-down route down the field. The other was when tight end George Kittle just straight up dropped a pass that hit him square in the chest.

Other than that, Purdy was superb. He made every throw he needed to make and made the absolute right decision every time.

If you were guaranteed that the 49ers would win this game and you had the opportunity to draw up how they would win, this would not have been a bad way to do it. Among the question marks hanging over this Niners team is how would they respond in close games, or if they were playing from behind.

They answered those questions on Saturday and broke an unbelievable streak in the process.

A gritty come-from-behind win like this should only build the confidence of this 49ers team as they look to take on either the Bucs or Lions in the NFC Championship game.

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