Down 10 but gaining confidence to start the second half, the San Francisco 49ers faced a pivotal play: 3rd-and-8 from the Green Bay Packers’ 45-yard line with six minutes left in the third quarter.
The margins are so thin in the NFL, and the result of this particular play proved it. Backup quarterback Brandon Allen threw a catchable ball for Deebo Samuel, but the veteran receiver failed to make a contested catch against linebacker Isaiah McDuffie and safety Xavier McKinney caught the deflection for the turning point play of the Packers’ 38-10 win over the 49ers.
McKinney’s league-leading seventh interception set up the Packers inside the 49ers’ 30-yard line, and Josh Jacobs powered in a touchdown run three plays later to extend the lead to 24-7 and help set up a comfortable victory.
“That was critical,” coach Matt LaFleur said post-game.
https://twitter.com/packers/status/1860826577828716640
It’s fair to wonder how the final 21 minutes would have played out had Samuel made the catch and extended the drive. The 49ers trailed 17-7 and were driving to cut the Packers’ lead to one score. Instead, the Packers took away the ball, stole all the momentum back and created a three-score lead going into the fourth quarter against a backup quarterback missing his future Hall of Fame left tackle.
From the interception on, the Packers outscored the 49ers 21-3.
Green Bay is now 8-3 this season, including a 5-3 mark when McKinney records an interception (three straight wins).
McKinney, who had an interception in each of his first five games, snapped a two-game streak without a pick. His last interception before Sunday was Oct. 27 in Jacksonville.
McKinney became the first Packers player with at least seven interceptions in a season since Charles Woodson in 2011 and the first safety since Nick Collins in 2008. He’s the 18th player in franchise history to get to seven interceptions in a season and just the fourth since 2000 (Woodson, Collins, Darren Sharper).
