Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press
Things looked pretty bleak for the Packers Saturday night at Candlestick Park.
 

Zach Heilprin's 2-minute drill

A closer look at Green Bay's 24-10 victory

Game Balls

Offense: Wide receiver James Jones
The Packers’ receiver finished off his stellar season with another strong performance for an offense that wasn’t at its best on Saturday night. Jones’ biggest play came with the game tied, 7-7, near the end of the first quarter. On third and 5, Aaron Rodgers lofted one deep into what looked like double coverage, and like he has all year, Jones went up and made a fabulous catch for a 44-yard gain. The next play, DuJuan Harris scored from 18 yards out to give Green Bay the lead. Jones also caught his 15th touchdown of the season on a 20-yard strike from Rodgers to tie the game near the end of the first half.

Defense: Cornerback Sam Shields
There aren’t a whole lot of positives when you give up a postseason team record 579 yards but Shields got the defense off to a promising start. On third down of the opening possession, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick tried forcing a pass into tight end Vernon Davis, but Shields jumped in front of it and took it back 52 yards for a touchdown to give Green Bay an early lead. Shields finished with four tackles and two passes defended.

Special Teams: Punter Tim Masthay
It was a quiet night for the coverage units, though Masthay finished out the season strong. He averaged 47 yards per punt and dropped two inside the 20. He also made a nice tackle of Ted Ginn on a return that was called back because of a penalty.

Tweet of the Game
 

This kid is like a big-play ATM. And it's contagious.

— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) January 13, 2013

-- NFL Network’s Rich Eisen commenting on the play of the 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick as San Francisco rolled over Green Bay 45-31.

Quote of the Day
“I think anytime you play younger players, you’re always concerned about experience. Regular season is a little different than playoffs. I thought Jeremy played well last week. For him to drop that ball, there’s no excuse for it. It was not a difficult punt and obviously it turned in to seven points for the 49ers.”

Packers’ head coach Mike McCarthy on his decision to have Jeremy Ross return punts instead of normal return man Randall Cobb. Ross muffed a punt in the second quarter that led to a San Francisco touchdown.

In Case You Missed It
All-time leading receiver Donald Driver was active for likely his final game as a Packer and was used on the punt return team.

The Packers didn’t score on their opening drive of the second half for the first time in six games.

The Packers fell to 5-11 in postseason games (since 1990) in which they commit two or more turnovers. Green Bay had two against San Francisco on Saturday night.

Packers right guard Josh Sitton was forced to miss the second and third down plays on the team’s opening drive of the second half while trying to get his shoe back on. On the following drive, center Evan Dietrich-Smith had an issue with his shoe and the Green Bay was forced to use a timeout.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers saw his three game road playoff winning streak snapped with the loss to the 49ers. He’s now 3-2 on the road as the Packers starter in the postseason.

Inside the Numbers

579 – Yards allowed by the Green Bay defense, the most in a playoff game in franchise history. It replaces the 531 yards that the Arizona Cardinals put up in a 2009 NFC Wild Card game.

181 – Yards rushing for the 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick on Saturday night, the most by a quarterback in a regular season or postseason game. It breaks Michael Vick’s regular season mark of 173 and his playoff record of 119.

323 – Yards rushing by the 49ers as a team, the most given up by a Packers defense this season.

133 – Points the Packers have given up in their last three playoff losses combined (51 vs Arizona 2009, 37 vs NY Giants 2011, 45 vs San Francisco 2012).