The Defense Shuts Them Down: Packers Defeat 49ers, 17-3

It was a historic performance for the Green Bay Packers defense who held the 49ers to their worst offensive performance since 1963 or 1964. As the game went on, the Packer fans in attendance took over and flipped the home field advantage.

Packers fans turned Levi's Stadium into Lambeau Field in the second half. http://t.co/9mI0xIblTU https://t.co/Vfjyz3xyo0

— SB Nation (@SBNation) October 4, 2015

Why was the defense so good? RB Carlos Hyde couldn't run the ball, the run defense was all over him on every carry, and QB Colin Kaepernick has no accuracy downfield. At first, he wouldn't throw the ball deep, but when he finally did start going deep, he usually threw it out of bounds. He connected on one long pass to WR Torrey Smith but that was the exception. In the first half, Kaepernick had some success on designed cut back runs, but in the second half, FS HaHa Clinton-Dix went into the box to shut it all down. There were times in the third quarter when it looked like the Packers were playing with a single deep safety, sometimes it looked like it was only 4th stringer S Chris Banjo deep, but the 49ers still couldn't take advantage of it.

With so many defenders playing near the line, and LBs Nick Perry and Jayrone Elliott adding extra pressure along with the usual suspects (Matthews, Peppers, Daniels, etc.), they overwhelmed the 49ers' underwhelming offensive line.

I'd love to write that the Packers D has stepped up, but this was more about how far Kaepernick has fallen. When the announcers start talking about how much the coaches love QB Blaine Gabbert, it's a big problem. Until Kaepernick re-discovers his accuracy, he's not a starting NFL QB.

The offense struggled and QB Aaron Rodgers was frustrated in the first half. He admitted that they were off today. It looked like all the injuries finally caught up to them. Some of the receivers didn't seem on the same page, and that probably doesn't happen if Nelson, Adams and Quarless were playing instead of Montgomery, Janis and Backman.

But no starter was missed as much as RT Bryan Bulaga. I was OK with RT Don Barclay allowing pressure as long as he didn't allow hits or sacks. However, in this game, he gave up a couple hits and sacks in addition to all the usual pressures. That allowed 49ers LB Aaron Smith to get to know Rodgers up close and personal. I doubt the coaches will make a change at this point because Bulaga should be healthy in three weeks, and then Barclay can go back to the bench.

Another problem on offense was their 3rd down conversion rate (5 for 15) which is usually around 40 to 50 percent. They were 3 for 4 on 3rd downs in the 3rd quarter, and that's the quarter in which the offense score 10 points on consecutive drives. The reasons listed above ("off today" and Barclay) caused most of the problems, but penalties were also a semi-problem. LG Josh Sitton never commits penalties and he had two holding penalties on Sunday. Barclay will still be a problem in the near future, but otherwise the offense should be much improved by returning home to Lambeau for next week's game.

It wasn't the most impressive win, but winning on the road is never easy, and they've opened up a two game lead over their next closest NFC North rival.

Packers to Wear Throwback Uniforms Sunday

The Packers will wear throwback uniforms in Sunday's game against the Eagles, The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Tyler Dunne reports.

The jerseys, which are navy blue with a yellow circle in the center containing the player's number, will be accompanied by an all-yellow helmet. The Packers also wore those last year when they blew out the Browns in Jermichael Finley's infamous neck injury contest.  

In previous seasons, though, the Packers have usually stuck with the brown ones pictured above, which are meant to simulate old leather helmets. As Dunne notes, they first dawned the set in a 2010 meeting with the 49ers. 

Packers OT David Bakhtiari was medically ineligible when he played Sunday

In an interesting article recently published by ESPN.com, it was revealed by the NFL that Packers rookie OT David Bakhtiari was medically ineligible when he played in Sunday's playoff loss to the 49ers. Bakhtiari, who seemed to be hurt pretty much all season, played just one snap in the contest, a worthless extra point in which his being on the field didn't matter. 

The article stated that Bakhtiari had apparently suffered a concussion some time in the late regular season, which he never had medically checked out. Still, the league doesn't appear to care too much about this, as no penalty is expected to be handed out.  

House almost blocked the Niners game-winning field goal

Packers CB Davon House was inches away from blocking the 49ers game-winning field goal in Sunday's game, FOX Sports pointed out. House, who was great on defense throughout the contest, was able to run right to Niners Kicker Phil Dawson on the play, before diving and, amazingly, having the ball go BETWEEN his arms. 

So yea, the Packers were that close to sending the game to overtime. So now I guess we all have one more thing to be depressed about for these next few months. I mean, imagine what could've been had House's hands just been a little closer together. 

Reaction: Packers season ends with last second loss to 49ers

Well, you know what happened. The Packers were down 13-10 at halftime, they took the lead early in the fourth quarter, and then they blew it. The 49ers kicked a 33 yard field goal as time expired, and just like that all the hype about this team ended. But hey, they played pretty well, didn't they? I mean, the first quarter really screwed them over, but after that they were pretty good. Rodgers had a few nice scrambles, Lacy converted a bunch of first downs, and the defense made a few stops. They lost, but they lost in an effort-filled way. So yea, I'm not mad that they came up short. Sometimes you just don't win. 

ESPN: 49ers are 2-0 in Harbaugh era when temp is below 40 degrees

Recently, ESPN published a pretty interesting fact about the 49ers: that since Jim Harbaugh took over their head coaching position in 2011, they have played just two below-40 degree games, winning both of them. However, the colder of the two never went below 34 degrees, so it looks the weather will give the Packers a little bit of an advantage in today's game after all. 

Personally, I don't believe the Pack will lose this game, but that doesn't mean I don't think it'll be close. I think the 49ers will mess up a few times due to the low temp, but in the end, the Pack will win because they played better, not because they're more used to the cold. 

Corporate Partners help Packers sell out playoff game

According to the Green Bay Packers Official Blog, corporate partners have purchased all the remaining tickets for this weekend's Wild Card game, helping the Packers avoid what would've been an embarrassing sellout. With this announcement, the Pack have now sold out an amazing, 320 consecutive home games. 

I guess this is pretty big news, but in the end, it doesn't effect me. I don't live in Wisconsin, so I was gonna get the game on TV either way. But still, it's definitely good to know that the people of the Badger State will not be getting screwed over after all. 

Packers listed as 3 point underdogs for this weekend's 49ers game

This isn't at all surprisingly, but yea, the Packers have been listed as early 3 point underdogs for this weekend's Wild Card game against the 12-4 49ers. The 49ers, who have a record good enough to be the NFC's 2 seed, have won six straight games, and went a stellar 6-2 on the road this season. 

While I by no means think this game will be an easy win for the Pack, I do believe that their chances of winning are much better than San Fran's. The way I see this one playing out: the Niners offense will walk all over the Pack all afternoon, but in the end, like with Sunday's Bears game, Green Bay's defense will get a late stop and ultimately win in the final seconds. Yea, it'll be stressful, but if it happens, I won't be complaining.