Packers vs. 49ers: Final Report Card, Player Grades for Green Bay

The Green Bay Packers lost 45-31 to the San Francisco 49ers to end their season. The Packers started fast with a Sam Shields interception return for a touchdown, but had no answer for Colin Kaepernick who played an incredible game following the pick. 

Let's take a look at the Packers final postgame grades and evaluations. 

Quarterbacks

Aaron Rodgers–C

Rodgers played a pretty average game and got outplayed by Colin Kaepernick. That had plenty to do with the two defenses, but the Packers needed Rodgers to be perfect tonight and he wasn't. Rodgers had an incredible season and at times made the Packers seem much better than they really were.  

Running Backs

DuJuan Harris–B

Harris continues to prove he is the real deal and can be a big piece of the Packers future. He ran well on his 11 carries and looked especially good on his 18-yard touchdown pass. With more practice and time with this team, Harris has a bright future. 

John Kuhn–D

Kuhn did get any carries and Aaron Rodgers over-threw him on his only target of the game. Kuhn did okay for most of the game in pass blocking, but completely missed on a number of others. He allowed pressures and a Patrick Willis sack. 

Wide Receivers

Greg Jennings–C+

Jennings was decent and got a lot of attention from Rodgers with eight targets and six catches. While he did a nice job securing the ball, Jennings struggled with getting yards after the catch against the stingy 49ers defense. It was nice to see Jennings get into the end zone in what will likely be his last game in a Packers uniform. 

James Jones–B+

Jones was the best wide receiver for the Packers not only in this game, but for the season. He was extremely consistent in this one and the touchdown-machine got back into the end zone. He had an uncharacteristic drop, but the game was largely decided at that point. 

Jordy Nelson–D

Nelson finished with five catches for 46 yards, but seemed largely erased by the 49ers defense. He failed to make an impact on the game, although he got the second-most targets on the team. 

Randall Cobb–C-

Cobb didn't have much of an impact in the first half, but was a larger part of the game-plan in the second half. He did well on his two carries to get 23 yards and got some yardage in the passing game as well. While he did get some production, it wasn't the type of performance the Packers needed from their "everything" man. 

Tight Ends

Jermichael Finley–C+

Finley had a couple nice plays, but wasn't able to come up with a huge play in the second half that could have changed the game. It would be harsh to consider it an outright drop, but Finley had a chance to make the play. It will be interesting to see what the Packers do with Finley in the offseason. 

Tom Crabtree–B

Crabtree did a nice job helping out the offensive line both in pass blocking and run blocking. He's been extremely consistent this season. While his receiving game has increased during this season, he's done just as well in his blocking duties. 

Offensive Line

Marshall Newhouse–B-

Newhouse played one of his better games in a long while, but his false start penalty early in the second half absolutely killed the Packers. Instead of going in for the go-ahead touchdown, the Packers were forced to settle for a Mason Crosby field goal attempt to make it a 24-24 game. 

T.J. Lang–B

Lang also did a nice job and limited the 49ers vaunted pass rush from consistently getting anything going. For the most part of the game, Rodgers had plenty of time to throw. Lang had his struggles during the season, but played well when it mattered most. 

Evan Dietrich-Smith–B

The Packers potential center of the future put in a good performance against the 49ers. The Packers got some time for Rodgers and seemed to get a couple nice runs right up the middle, both for DuJuan Harris and Randall Cobb. 

Josh Sitton–A-

Sitton had a good game and his importance to the team was unfortunately showcased in the second half. He had issues with his shoes and had to come out for two plays. The Packers struggled to protect and got nothing on the two plays.

Don Barclay–B-

Barclay did a nice job and did well in the running game. Since he got into the line-up, Barclay helped improve the Packers run game. While he's also had his struggles in the passing game, he did well against the 49ers.

Defensive Line

B.J. Raji–D+

Raji had a strong start to the game as the Packers defensive line got the best of the 49ers offensive line early on. While that lasted all but two series, it was the Packers linebackers inability to contain the zone read that really hurt Raji and the defensive line. 

Ryan Pickett–D

Pickett struggled during the game with an injury and struggled to do much on the defensive line. The Packers defense just looked slow against the fast 49ers offense. 

C.J. Wilson–F

Wilson got a little bit of pressure early on, but failed to get anything going later in the game as the 49ers ran away with the game. Wilson didn't even register a tackle during the game. 

Mike Daniels–C-

Daniels got a significant push up-front, but the zone read and a lack of help along the defensive line and at the linebacker position killed Daniels. While it didn't do much tonight, it's a good sign going forward for the rookie defensive lineman. 

Mike Neal–F

Neal completely failed to get anything going as well and wasn't even credited with a tackle. Neal played well for a stretch towards the late-middle of the season, but struggled during the last few weeks of the season.  

Linebackers

Clay Matthews–D

The zone read plays the 49ers ran completely erased Matthews from having a in impact on this game. Matthews made one big play to knock-down a quick pass, but the 49ers scored two plays later. The Packers need their playmaker to come up with something big and he wasn't able to do so against the 49ers. 

Brad Jones–D+

While the Packers defense completely failed to contain Colin Kaepernick, Jones did a decent job when he had opportunities to make tackles. He was one of the most active defenders on the Packers. 

A.J. Hawk–D+

Hawk had a similar game to Brad Jones, but neither played a great game. He did a nice job against job against Franke Gore, but looked lost when Kaepernick took the ball and ran with it. He also wasn't able to come up with any game changing plays either. 

Erik Walden–F

Walden had the worst performance of the night for the Packers. He was horrendous as the quarterback spy and got embarrassed on a number of plays. While he got replaced by Dezman Moses later on, Walden's damage was already enough. 

Dezman Moses–C-

Moses actually played the zone read well on a couple wells, but the Packers stuck with Walden for the majority of the game. While he made a couple plays to contain Kaepernick, he struggled to get home when the Packers had chances to get pressure on the quarterback. 

Defensive Backs

Tramon Williams–D

Williams couldn't put together another good performance and struggled against Michael Crabtree and the rest of the 49ers receivers. Too often he gave too much of a cushion and failed to make tackles when he got the chance. 

Sam Shields–C+

Shields started the game with a bang, but looked mediocre throughout the rest of it. He wasn't able to consistent make plays and got beat on numerous occasions. He deserves a ton of credit for the quick start, but the rest just wasn't what the Packers needed. 

Charles Woodson–D-

Woodson's return was a huge boost for the Packers last week and made a difference. It may have helped against the 49ers, but it certainly didn't impact the outcome of this game. Woodson played well and made a couple plays, but he also missed a couple plays as well. 

Casey Hayward–D

The rookie didn't see a ton of action and failed to have an impact on the game. He was a turnover machine in the regular season, but wasn't able to get one when the Packers needed it most. 

Morgan Burnett–D

Burnett struggled with the zone read, but did okay when coming up to tackle Frank Gore. He wasn't able to get home with any blitzes which allowed Kaepernick plenty of time to throw. He finished with only one pass defense and a few tackles. 

M.D. Jennings–F

Jennings had no impact on the game whatsoever. He has seen his number of snaps decreased over the last two weeks, but he was largely invisible when he was on the field. 

Special Teams

Mason Crosby–B

Crosby hit his only field goal of the night and did a nice job of limiting the 49ers chances of breaking long returns. He did a nice job of mostly turning his season around during the last few games, but it may not be enough to keep him in Green Bay next season. 

Tim Masthay–B

Masthay punted the ball well with an average of 47 yards per punt. He also dropped two punts inside the 49ers 20-yard line. He had a great season and continued his strong play in this game. 

Jeremy Ross–F

Ross cost the Packers a big opportunity early in the game with fumble inside the 10-yard line. What's worse is that Ross shouldn't have even fielded the punt. He should have just let the ball bounce and risk the 49ers pinning the Packers deep. 

Randall Cobb–D

Cobb couldn't get anything going in the return game as he only averaged 17.8 yards per return. The Packers need Cobb to have a bigger impact on the game, especially after Ross' fumble. 

Coaching–F

Coaching Staff–F

The Packers coaching staff was not only completely out-coached by the 49ers, but embarrassed. The Packers didn't seem to have much of a game plan against the 49ers. They looked completely outmatched and unprepared in most aspects of the game. The lack of adjustments in the second half fall squarely on Mike McCarthy and Dom Capers.