49ers lose 30-28 heartbreaker to Packers on last-second field goal

The San Francisco 49ers put up a valiant effort in digging out of a 17-point deficit against the Green Bay Packers Sunday night, but it wasn't enough in the end to come out of Levi's Stadium with a win in their home opener.

The 49ers fell behind 17-0 in the first half but scratched their way out of the hole to take a 28-27 lead with 37 seconds remaining in the game. But that was all Aaron Rodgers and the Packers needed to zip downfield and set up a 51-yard field goal attempt for kicker Mason Crosby, who connected with three seconds in the game to give the Packers the win.

Rodgers had 261 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions on 23-of-33 passing in the win. Jimmy Garoppolo finished 25-of-40 with 257 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for the 49ers in the loss.

First Half

The Packers began the game on offense and got off to a quick start after Rodgers connected with wide receiver Allen Lazard on a 42-yard completion on the third play of the opening series. But they moved backwards from there due to two negative plays and a face mask penalty, which forced them to settle for a 54-yard field goal from Crosby to take a 3-0 lead.

The 49ers were forced to punt after five plays on their opening offensive series, then the Packers started their next drive in similar fashion to their first drive as Rodgers connected with wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling on the third play of the possession for a 47-yard gain to the 49ers' 19-yard line. The Packers didn't move in reverse this time and were able to finish the drive four plays later when Rodgers connected with wide receiver Davante Adams for a one-yard score.

The teams exchanged punts on the next two possessions before the 49ers began their third possession of the game from their own 14-yard line with just under 14 minutes left in the half. On the first play of that possession, Garoppolo threw deep for tight end George Kittle but was picked off by cornerback Jaire Alexander, who returned the interception to the 49ers' 32-yard line. The Packers moved to the 49ers' 12-yard line, but the 49ers stepped up on defense from there and forced a turnover on downs after the Packers fell short on a 4th-and-1 play from the three-yard line.

The 49ers took over from their own 4-yard line and advanced the ball to around the midfield mark in 10 plays before deciding to punt on a 4th-and-1 from the Packers' 49-yard line. The Packers took over at their own 13-yard line after the punt, then moved to their own 49-yard line after 49ers cornerback Emmanuel Moseley was called for pass interference on the third play of the drive. Completions of 15 and 19 yards to Adams helped move the Packers to a 1st-and-Goal at the 4-yard line, then running back Aaron Jones ran in from three yards out on second down to give the Packers a 17-0 lead with just over one minute remaining in the half.

But instead of heading into halftime with a 17-point deficit, the 49ers got an unexpected spark on the ensuing kickoff when Trenton Cannon returned the kick 68 yards to the Packers' 32-yard line. The 49ers moved inside the red zone and were set up with a 1st-and-Goal at the one-yard line with eleven seconds on the clock after a pass interference call in the end zone, but two unsuccessful plays left head coach Kyle Shanahan with a decision to make facing a third down with two seconds remaining. Shanahan chose to go for a touchdown with rookie Trey Lance in the game at quarterback, and with the help of a crushing block from left tackle Trent Williams, Lance ran into the end zone to help cut the lead to 17-7 as time expired.

The touchdown kept the 49ers within striking distance of the Packers despite the one-sided nature of the first half. The Packers outgained the 49ers 223 to 99 in the first half, with 176 of those yards coming through the air. The Packers held possession for 19:02 in the first half against 10:58 for the 49ers.

Second Half

The 49ers took the opening kickoff of the second half and produced their best drive of the game -- a 13-play, 83-yard drive that took 7:49 off the clock and ended in a touchdown pass from Garoppolo to wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. Key plays on the drive included a 16-yard completion to wide receiver on Deebo Samuel to set up a 1st-and-Goal as well as a 16-yard run by rookie back Trey Sermon and a 19-yard completion to Samuel earlier in the drive, then Garoppolo connected with Aiyuk from eight yards out on a 3rd-and-Goal to trim the Packers' lead to 17-14.

Punts were exchanged by each team after the touchdown, then the Packers took over from their own 14-yard line with 4:24 left in the third quarter. The Packers put together a 10-play drive that moved 86 yards (with the help of a 24-yard pass interference call on linebacker Fred Warner) and was capped off with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Rodgers to Valdes-Scantling for a 24-14 lead.

The 49ers began the next series at their own 19-yard line, then advanced to midfield after a third-down 35-yard pass interference penalty on cornerback Eric Stokes. Completions to fullback Kyle Juszczyk and wide receiver Mohamed Sanu followed by a five-yard run from Juszczyk gave the 49ers a 1st-and-Goal at the four-yard line, then were given a 1st-and-Goal at the one-yard line two plays later after a defensive holding call. Sermon then dove into the end zone from one yard out to finish the drive and cut the lead to 24-21 with 7:48 remaining.

The Packers were held to a three-and-out on the following possession, which took just 30 seconds off the clock. The 49ers took over at the 7:18 mark and moved across midfield with the help of a roughing the passer call on Alexander and a tripping call on safety Adrian Amos, but they gave the ball back to the Packers when a Garoppolo fumble was recovered at the 49ers' 38-yard line. Garoppolo was under pressure on the play and threw the ball to the ground backwards, which was followed by a recovery by defensive lineman Kenny Clark.

A 38-yard field goal from Crosby wound up being the result of the turnover, giving the 49ers one more chance from their own 25-yard line down 27-21 with 2:39 left to play. A 3rd-and-10 completion to Kittle for 39 yards put the ball at the Packers' 36-yard line and moved the clock to the two-minute warning. Garoppolo then found Samuel two plays later on a 3rd-and-10 for a 12-yard completion, then connected with Kittle on a 12-yard completion to the Packers' 12-yard line. From there, Garoppolo found Juszczyk over the middle for a completion, then Juszczyk barreled into the end zone for a touchdown with 37 seconds remaining. Robbie Gould connected on the point after attempt to give the 49ers a 28-27 lead.

Rodgers and the offense took over at their own 25-yard line after the kickoff, then advanced to the 50-yard line on a 25-yard pass from Rodgers to Adams. Rodgers found Adams again two plays later for a 17-yard gain to the 33-yard line, then was able to spike the ball with three seconds remaining. Crosby took care of the rest and sent the 49ers home with a loss.

The 49ers (2-1) will be back in action at Levi's Stadium next Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks (1-2) (4:05 p.m. ET/1:05 p.m. PT, FOX), while the Packers (2-1) return home to host the Pittsburgh Steelers (1-2) at Lambeau Field (4:25 p.m. ET/1:25 p.m. PT, CBS).

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