Packers: 3 times refs tried and failed to gift 49ers a win

There were three times in which the refs tried to give the San Francisco 49ers the win over the Green bay Packers.

The Green Bay Packers secured their second win of the season and sole possession of first-place in the NFC North following their 30-28 win over the San Francisco 49ers. But the game was not easy. Not only did the 49ers come to life at the end of the first half and carried the momentum for the remainder of the game, but the Packers had to deal with some questionable calls by the on-field officials.

Here are three calls (and non-calls) by the referees that nearly gave the 49ers the Week 3 victory on Sunday night.

3. Dirty helmet hit on Davante Adams

This non-call was an egregious one in the fourth quarter. With quarterback Aaron Rodgers throwing a pass to Davante Adams, the star wide receiver was hit in the chin strap by the crown of the helmet of 49ers safety Jimmie Ward. Even though it was an easy penalty to call on Ward, no flag was thrown on the field.

Even though Green Bay’s drive ended shortly afterwards, the good news was that Adams did not suffer a serious injury as a result of that Ward hit. The star receiver played a huge role in Green Bay’s final drive, as his two catches set up Mason Crosby’s game-winning field goal.

2. Intentional grounding

The 49ers got on the board in the closing seconds of the first half, thanks to a rushing touchdown by rookie quarterback Trey Lance. But on that drive, specifically on second-and-goal, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo got away with an intentional grounding penalty that was not called by the referees.

Instead of knocking the 49ers back further, they were able to get on the board and go to the locker room trailing 17-7.

1. Pass interference on Eric Stokes

This call by the officials was a costly one for the Packers. In the fourth quarter, the 49ers faced a third-and-14 situation. Garoppolo chucked a deep pass down the field to wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, which hit him in his right glove. It looked like a pivotal stop for the Packers, but instead, the officials threw the yellow flag and called pass interference on rookie cornerback Eric Stokes.

Take a look for yourselves and you be the judges.

With a new set of downs, San Francisco was able to march down the field and allow rookie running back Trey Sermon to score a goal-line touchdown to cut their deficit to 24-21. The 49ers could have punted earlier in the drive, if not for the assist from the referees.