49ers-Packers: Dre Greenlaw turns adventurous interceptions into legendary performance

Linebacker Dre Greenlaw further cemented his San Francisco 49ers legacy on Saturday night, though he did put a few scares into his coaches and teammates in the process.

Greenlaw's name was already inked in 49ers' lore due to his fourth-down goal line stop against the Seattle Seahawks in 2019 that clinched the NFC West for the 49ers along with a No. 1 playoff seed. Then, during the 49ers' 24-21 Divisional Round playoff win over the Green Bay Packers on Saturday, it was Greenlaw who played as big of a role as anyone on the 49ers' defense as he totaled eight tackles, one critical tackle-for-loss, and two memorable interceptions that helped carry the 49ers to an improbable win. Each interception was accompanied by an adventurous return from Greenlaw during which he refused to go down, even though doing so on his second interception would have effectively ended the game.

Greenlaw's first interception occurred at a crucial moment when the 49ers were at risk of falling into a deficit that would have been difficult to overcome. The Packers were up 21-14 in the third quarter, had just forced a 49ers' punt and were moving the ball towards 49ers' territory when a pass from quarterback Jordan Love deflected off the hand of tight end Tucker Kraft and into the arms of Greenlaw, who ran back and forth for a bit before finally getting tackled.

Greenlaw can certainly be excused on that play for trying to make something extra happen when the 49ers needed a spark. But on his second interception, which halted the Packers on their final possession of the game, Greenlaw chose to pursue a lengthy interception return even though he just needed to fall to the turf to ice the game.

That wasn't the best decision Greenlaw could have made, considering that a fumble on that play could have been potentially disastrous. But Greenlaw got away with it, and it led to a few laughs after the game.

"I was like, dude, Dre, what are you playing? Backyard football?" tight end George Kittle said during his postgame media session. "Oh, my goodness. Like, just go down, especially like every time he cut it was like an NBA crossover. I was like, 'Oh my.' That might have been the most stressful part of the night, was his interception. Both of them."

Greenlaw admitted he heard the calls for him to go to the turf and that he knows that's what he should have done. But he lightheartedly put the blame for his decision on fellow linebacker Fred Warner, who hyped him up earlier by telling him he was going to score a touchdown at some point in the game.

"Oh yeah, I heard 'em. But Fred told me I was supposed to get a pick six," Greenlaw said. "So, I mean, it was kinda his fault because he told me, he was like, 'Man, you're gonna get a pick six.' So I was trying to get one every time I got the ball but yeah, I know I need to go down."

A pick-six was indeed on Greenlaw's mind when he made the play, as Warner corroborated to reporters after the game. Warner was surprised as anyone to see Greenlaw running around with the football after his second interception, despite what he had said to his teammate earlier.

"You know what's funny is I'm right there for the interception, and I see Superman Dre Greenlaw come out of nowhere and snag it. I'm like, 'Yes.' I don't even look at him. I turn around, I start looking at the crowd, and then I turn around, I see 57 just running around, swimming with the football like this. I'm like, 'Oh, heavens.' But you know what? I went up to him afterward. I'm like, 'Why didn't you go down?' He's like, 'I wanted to pick six like we talked about!'"

While those two interceptions were the main highlights on the night for Greenlaw, he also played a big part in what turned out to be a pivotal play early in the second quarter. With the Packers up 3-0 and facing a 4th-and-1 at the 49ers' 13-yard line, Greenlaw was in on a tackle that stopped Love short of a first down and turned the ball over to the 49ers on downs. Greenlaw and the defense thought the Packers would try to run the sneak to Love on that play, and he was ready for it when it happened.

"I knew it was coming," Greenlaw said of the play. "I mean, we had kind of practiced it all week and we were prepared for it. Kinda got that little brotherly shove, kinda like the Eagles a little bit. So, I mean, we were prepared for it, we saw it on film and then once they got in that formation, we knew what time it was and my job is just to go hit the quarterback in the shoulder, not in the head."

There actually seemed to be a possibility earlier in the week that Greenlaw might not play in the game due to an injury to his Achilles. But after missing practice on Tuesday, Greenlaw, with the help of some 6:30 a.m. treatment sessions, got healthy enough to participate on Wednesday and Thursday and wound up being cleared to play against the Packers on Saturday night.

"I wasn't gonna sit out this game for anything," Greenlaw said. "But, yeah, I mean, it definitely felt great, just knowing that you battle from all this, barely practice all week and got a chance to go out there and make some plays. So, I mean, I'm just doing it for my teammates. I know they wanted me to play and I know I wanted to play. So, yeah, I was gonna make sure I did everything to get in this game."

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan applauded Greenlaw for fighting through his injury to put on the performance that he did on Saturday night, which was his first multi-interception game since his college days at the University of Arkansas. Shanahan joked that if Greenlaw wanted to showcase his yards-after-catch ability that maybe there'd be a spot for him to do so on offense.

"He's been battling here for these two weeks, trying to get back and get healthy for the game," Shanahan said. "I mean, he inspires the heck out of all of us. The way he runs, the way he hits. For him to make those plays, catching the ball when they sent both to him. We'll put him on offense if he really wants to run with the ball that bad, but he could definitely get down a lot sooner."

The 49ers need Greenlaw's help on defense more than offense, and it's quite possible that they'll need more big plays from him moving forward as they try to get back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2019. But if they ever give him the chance to run around on offense like he did Saturday night on defense, he'd be happy to jump at the opportunity.

"Put me out there," Greenlaw said. "That's what I used to do in high school."

Related News

• Kyle Shanahan on Dre Greenlaw: "We'll put him on offense if he really wants to run with the ball that bad" Pro Football Talk • Jan 21
• Greenlaw admits he must learn 'situational football' after mental mistakes NBCS Bay Area • Jan 22