Unstoppable Raheem Mostert leads 49ers past Packers and into Super Bowl
Not familiar with the San Francisco 49ers’ top ground-gainer in 2019? Raheem Mostert’s performance vs. Green Bay was an eye-opener.
Back in Week 12, the San Francisco 49ers used a smothering defense to vanquish the Green Bay Packers by a 37-8 score. Aaron Rodgers and company could not get out of their own way and were pathetic on third and fourth down in that contest.
In Sunday’s NFC Championship Game at Levi’s Stadium, the Pack could not avoid Niners’ running back Raheem Mostert. Once again, Matt LeaFleur’s club gave up 37 points and lost by double digits. And this time, coordinator Mike Pettine’s defense was simply run over by a player and a team that was determined to make a statement about power football.
It was hardly a surprise that head coach Kyle Shanahan turned to the league’s second-ranked ground attack. But it was the 49ers’ persistence with the running game that was impressive. And Mostert put up numbers that had people scrambling for the NFL record book.
There were 29 carries for 220 yards and touchdown jaunts of 36, 9, 18 and 22 yards. To put that in its very proper perspective, only Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson has amassed more rushing yards in a postseason game. In the 1985 NFC Divisional Playoffs, the Rams’ superstar finished with 248 yards on the ground in a win over the Dallas Cowboys. His four touchdowns are the second-most by a player in postseason history.
How crucial was the play of Mostert?
Shanahan’s game plan was to have quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo take a back seat in terms of throwing the football in this contest. The six-year signal-caller would drop back just nine times in the 37-20 triumph. He was sacked once and connected on six of his eight throws for 77 yards by game’s end. There were no turnovers by the 49ers, who are on their way to their seventh Super Bowl and first since 2012.
All told, the reigning NFC West champions finished with 285 yards on the ground – the eighth-most rushing yards by a team in an NFL postseason contest. And Mostert took advantage of some exceptional blocking while making the Green Bay defense look more than a step slow.
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Entering Sunday, the talk of the playoffs was Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry, who spearheaded his team’s playoff upsets of the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens. He was contained on Sunday at Kansas City. But now the Chiefs have the somewhat unenviable task of facing Mostert. He and the San Francisco offensive line will test Andy Reid’s team and Steve Spagnuolo’s defense in Super Bowl LIV in Miami.