Without further ado, here is my Instant Analysis on San Francisco's 23-20 win in Green Bay.
Why San Francisco won:
Kaepernick's legs. In a game that remained mainly even throughout, Kaepernick's ability to run out of the pocket really changed this game. It seemed that when the pocket would break down, Kaepernick would find a way to use his legs to escape the pocket, and pick up the first down. For example, when San Francisco was on their last drive, they faced a 3rd and 8. If San Francisco did not convert this first down, they would have kicked the field goal and left about 30 seconds left for the Packers to score. Green Bay sent a 6 man blitz, but when Jarrett Bush rushed at Kaepernick, Kaep simply evaded the rush, picked up the first down with his speed, and salted way the rest of the clock to give San Francisco an easy FG that they converted to win the game.
Why Green Bay Lost:
Missed Opportunities costed the Packers in this game. The Packers were down, 20-17, on what turned out to be Green Bay's final drive. The Packers drove it all the way down to 1st and goal on San Francisco's 9 yard line. However, the Packers could only manage a Field Goal, tying the game with 5:06 left to go in the game. Then, Green Bay's defense just couldn't stop Kaepernick. On 2nd and 10 from San Francisco's 31, Micah Hyde had the opportunity for an easy pick-6. but he dropped the INT, setting up 3rd and 10. On that 3rd and 10, Kaepernick completed a 17-yard pass to Michael Crabtree to set the tone for the entire drive. Later, on 3rd and 8 at the Green Bay 38, the Packers could have stopped the Niners short of the first down, and gave themselves time to come back if San Francisco made the Field Goal or force 4th down. Instead, Green Bay rushes 6, Jarrett Bush rushes at Kaepernick, and Kaepernick uses his legs to pick up 11 yards and the first down. Missed opportunities costed the Packers in this one.
However, that wasn't the only factor. The Packers remain undisciplined in their pass rush lanes, as made evident by Kaepernick's 7 carries for 98 yards. Instead of containing Kaepernick and making him come to them, they repeatedly rushed to him. Although the Packers got their fair share of sacks (3), they repeatedly allowed Kaepernick to rush all over them, and that made a key difference in determining the outcome.
Game MVP:
Kaepernick. Kaepernick finished only 16 of 30 passing, but passed for 227 yards, which comes to a respectable 7.6 yards per completion. He shook off an early INT to Tramon Williams by delivering a 28-yard TD strike to Vernon Davis that gave the 49ers a 20-17 lead in the 4th quarter.
Of course, his running ability made all the difference. Kaepernick had 7 carries for 98 yards. A whopping 14 yards per carry. Kaepernick also had a 42-yard rush that set up a 10-yard Frank Gore Touchdown. Kaepernick's dual-threat ability once again made the difference.
Next for San Francisco:
San Francisco will go on the road to Carolina to take on another dual-threat quarterback in Cam Newton. Both teams played each other in San Francisco on November 10th, in what was one of the most physical games of the season. Carolina won the game, 10-9.
Next for Green Bay:
The season ends once again with major questions on the defensive end of the ball. The Packers will clean out their lockers on Monday, and the off-season will officially start for them, maybe with a shake-up in the coaching staff, namely Defensive Coordinator.
Now, I've never recommended an article to anybody before, but I found this article rather entertaining. Jayson Stark wrote an article about the strange, but true facts about the 2013 baseball season. Here is the link to the article
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10210242/mlb-strange-true-2013