Divisional Round Takeaways: 49ers end ugly trend, Ravens continue dominance

The clock struck midnight on the Green Bay Packers who didn't have enough in the end against the San Francisco 49ers.

Looking to pull off another unlikely upset against a top seed in the NFC, the Packers had the 49ers on their toes through three quarters but left the door open to heartbreak. Unfortunately, Jordan Love's breakout season ended in disaster with a throw that will be in his nightmares.

While San Francisco will look at this game as an ugly result, an uglier trend was conquered that will have head coach Kyle Shanahan breathing a sigh of relief.

The Baltimore Ravens were rested and determined to cool down the hype surrounding the Houston Texans and C.J. Stroud. Well the mood in the Ravens locker room after a dominant win had head coach John Harbaugh channeling his inner Ted Lasso.

It was business as usual for Lamar Jackson, who knew there were questions about his ability to get the job done when it matters, considering he came into Saturday's game with a 1-3 record in the playoffs.

Like he's done all season long, Jackson continues to justify the contract extension he signed and is gaining momentum from the doubts he's heard.

"You know I heard that," Jackson said after the game. "I've seen it, I don't even got to hear it. I see it. But it is what it is. I don't really care about what people say. I'm trying to win. Day in, day out, every time I'm on that field, I'm trying to play to the best of my ability. Those guys just had our team's number in the past, but it's a different team."

Now the Ravens will do something that hasn't happened in franchise history: host an AFC Championship Game.

49ERS 24, PACKERS 21

Greenlaw seals the deal with game-changing interceptions

The 49ers defence knew they were going to have their hands full after what Love did to the Cowboys the week before.

It was Dre Greenlaw that came with the timely plays that got his teammates off the field and sealed the game with Green Bay looking to pull off a comeback late. He also recorded a team-high eight tackles including one for a loss.

With Love throwing a hope and a prayer to get into scoring position, it was Greenlaw who would come down with the football. Although, someone might want to remind the linebacker to go down and secure the ball rather than try to run wild.

Without the interceptions from Greenlaw, who knows how this game would have played out for the 49ers.

McCaffrey, Purdy come through despite offensive struggles

This was not a banner day for Brock Purdy with the rain clearly impacting his accuracy in the passing game.

Despite his struggles, Purdy did one thing many questioned he was capable of doing, win a game in which his team was trailing. With his team needing a touchdown in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, Purdy made some big throws and even used his legs to set up McCaffrey's game-winning touchdown run.

Speaking of McCaffrey:

The 49ers' top offensive weapon continues to add to his reputation as a top offensive player in the league scoring a touchdown in 14 of the 17 games he's played in.

No play cemented McCaffrey's importance than the 39-yard touchdown run to give the 49ers the lead in the third quarter. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the play had an expected rush yards of five and a 0.2 per cent touchdown probability.

It didn't help that the 49ers lost top receiver Deebo Samuel to a left shoulder injury in the first half. Samuel had two catches for 24 yards on San Francisco's opening possession but left the game to be evaluated for a concussion but then departed again because of the shoulder injury.

Special teams help and hurt Packers

They do say that special teams can make or break a team. Well, the Packers saw both scenarios in their loss to the 49ers.

Keisean Nixon set up a Packers touchdown with a big kickoff return which almost ended with a disastrous fumble.

The heartbreak for Green Bay came from a missed field goal from rookie kicker Anders Carlson on a 41-yard attempt that went wide left.

It was a deflating moment for the Packers, and it ended up being the difference, with the game ending in a three-point loss.

"I don't know. I think if we had the answer, we would've fixed it," head coach Matt LaFleur said after the game. "Certainly, got to work on the consistency. We've seen him do it. We know what he's capable of. You've got to be consistent to last in this league."

Many will question why the Packers didn't explore other options at kicker, with Carlson sitting 26th in the league in field goal percentage, including a 50 per cent success rate on kicks between 40 and 49 yards.

Jones breaks through 49ers run defence

Going into the game, San Francisco had not allowed a running back to have 100-plus yards on the ground since Week 8 of the 2021 season.

With 108 yards on the ground on 18 carries, Aaron Jones broke the 49ers' 51-game streak. His play on the ground was crucial in the victory over the Dallas Cowboys and it was setting up for him to be the key cog.

With a young core of receivers and the emergence of quarterback Jordan Love, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for Jones.

RAVENS 31, TEXANS 10

Jackson's MVP form on full display

Trying to stop a quarterback like Jackson has its challenges considering his ability to beat you with his arm and legs.

Credit Houston for making life difficult on Jackson in the first half, notching three sacks and allowing just 23 net passing yards. Unfortunately for the Texans, they weren't able to capitalize and it was only a matter of time before the tide started to turn.

There have been many great dual-threat quarterbacks in the history of the NFL but Jackson managed to accomplish a lot of firsts in one single game including:

- Most career playoff games with 100-plus rushing yards by a quarterback.

- First quarterback in NFL history to lead his team in rush yards and advance beyond the Divisional Round.

- First player in NFL history to record two passing touchdowns, two rushing touchdowns, 100 passing yards and 100 rushing yards.

If that doesn't scream MVP-level quarterback to you, then you can take the word of Texans head coach Demeco Ryans as further proof.

"Credit to Lamar. He made a ton of great plays. Probably, that’s why he’s the MVP," Ryans said after the game. "He made a ton of great plays. We didn’t make plays. It’s what it all comes down to."

Good luck to whichever team has to try and stop Jackson in the AFC Championship Game.

Ravens' defence continues to develop championship form

Anytime a defence doesn't allow a touchdown, there's a good chance that team will come away victorious.

While the Ravens will go as far as Jackson can take them, the play of the defence can't be overlooked, especially the way Houston's offence was shut down in the second half. Baltimore allowed just 51 yards in the second half and the Texans did not run a single offensive play inside the Ravens 25-yard line.

The Ravens' defence doesn't have many weaknesses and doesn't necessarily have to record a sack to be productive in putting pressure on the quarterback.

Stroud went 5-for-10 with 32 yards and a passer rating of 57.1 against the blitz, compared to 14-for-23 for 143 yards and a 78.7 passer rating when the Ravens didn’t blitz.

Texans, Stroud unable to carry momentum over

After exploding for 45 points where Stroud threw for 274 yards and three touchdowns for a 157.2 quarterback rating against the Cleveland Browns, the Ravens took the rookie to school.

Stroud completed 19-of-33 passing attempts for 175 yards and a 72.2 quarterback rating. While Stroud didn't get sacked in the game, he was still hit five times when pressured as Baltimore did not want to give him any time to make a big play.

Houston managed just 10 first downs all game long, and went scoreless in the second half. Where the Texans struggled the most was on the ground, recording just 38 yards, which put more pressure on Stroud to try and get something going.

The only touchdowns for Houston came on a 67-yard punt return by Steven Sims which tied the game at 10 going into halftime. Unfortunately, they couldn't muster anything else.