49ers vs. Green Bay Packers

Mason Crosby kicked a 51-yard field goal on the final play and the Green Bay Packers beat the 49ers 30-28 at Levi's Stadium on Sunday Night Football. After San Francisco scored a touchdown with 37 seconds left to take its first lead at 28-27, Aaron Rodgers completed two passes to Davante Adams to set up Crosby's winner. Rodgers went 23-of-33 for 261 with two TDs and a 113.3 rating. Garoppolo 25-of-40 for 257 with two TDs and an INT plus a costly fumble. The 49ers fell to 2-1.[1][2][3]

Aaron Rodgers had 37 seconds to drive the field for the winning field goal Sunday night at Levi's Stadium. Two passes to Davante Adams later, Mason Crosby was lining up for a 51-yard field goal. He made it.

The 49ers lost 30-28 on Sunday Night Football in the kind of close late-September game that defines whether a team has the closing discipline to be a real contender. Garoppolo threw for 257 yards and two touchdowns but also turned the ball over twice. The 49ers had taken their first lead with 37 seconds left when Trent Sherfield caught a 4-yard touchdown.

Rodgers, who spent the offseason being talked about as the second-most-likely 2021 Packers quarterback, looked exactly like Aaron Rodgers does when he is the Packers' Aaron Rodgers. 113.3 passer rating. Two touchdowns to Adams. The kind of two-minute drive that ended with three seconds on the clock and the game already decided. 2-1. The Seahawks come up at home next.

Packers 30, 49ers 28. Margin: -2. Three-game record: 2-1, +12 differential.

• Mason Crosby: 51-yard FG on final play to win.
• Aaron Rodgers: 23-of-33 for 261, 2 TDs, 113.3 rating.
• Davante Adams: 12 catches for 132, 1 TD.
• Garoppolo: 25-of-40 for 257, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 1 fumble.
• 49ers took first lead 28-27 with 0:37 left on Trent Sherfield 4-yard TD.
• 49ers 2-1; Packers 2-1.

A 30-28 Sunday Night Football loss to the Packers at Levi's Stadium. The 49ers fall to 2-1.

How it unfolded

The Packers built a 17-0 lead late in the second quarter behind a Rodgers TD to Adams. A long 49ers kickoff return set up a touchdown right before halftime. The 49ers scored on the opening drive of the second half to make it 17-14. The teams traded touchdowns through the third and fourth quarters with the Packers ahead 24-21. The 49ers took their first lead with 0:37 left on a 4-yard touchdown to Trent Sherfield. Rodgers drove the Packers down the field in 37 seconds, two completions to Adams setting up Crosby's 51-yard game-winner.

The turning point

The final 37 seconds. With the 49ers having taken their first lead, Rodgers' two-minute drill was the kind of late-game possession that the league had been watching him produce for a decade. Crosby finished it.

By the numbers

Garoppolo 257 passing on 40 attempts with two TDs and an INT plus the fumble. Rodgers 261 passing on 33 attempts with two TDs and the 113.3 rating. Adams 12 catches for 132 and a TD. Crosby the 51-yard winner.

Personnel watch

Rodgers in his first prime-time game of the post-trade-rumor era. The 49ers' defense, generating one sack, could not get him off the field on the closing drive. Mitchell 18 carries for 41.

What it means

2-1 with a Sunday-night loss that was the kind of late-game collapse the team will need to avoid against contenders. The Seahawks come up at home next.