The San Francisco 49ers left 37 seconds on the game clock after quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo hit fullback Kyle Juszczyk for what seemed to be a game-winning touchdown. However, that ended up being more than enough time for Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers to pull off a miracle.
Juszczyk didn't have any regrets about scoring so quickly. After all, touchdowns are tough to come by in the NFL, and you have to take advantage of your opportunities.
"I mean, all I can say is there are some plays that I want back in that game," Juszczyk said this week. "I promise you, that's not one of them. That's one I'm not going to change a hundred times out of a hundred. From a football sense, it doesn't make sense."
Does Juszczyk's quarterback have any regrets about the events that led to that score?
"In the heat of the battle? Yeah, let the play clock run for a little longer," Garoppolo admitted. "I don't know how much of a difference that would make. There's just some situational football that I think, as a team, we learned how we could do better.
"If Juice gets tackled at the one, it's a whole different story. There's a ton of that stuff, but as an offense, you're trying to score. So, to do that in the final 30 seconds or so, that's what we were trying to do."
Garoppolo added: "Hindsight is 20/20. Yeah, would have loved to run it down to one second, but you're toeing the line of you've got them on their heels. We were going with some tempo. ... It's a tough line to play with. But yeah, I wish I would have let some time run off the clock. I wish Juice would have gotten tackled at the one. But it is what it is. That's why we play the game."
The score left the game in the hands of the defense. Linebacker Fred Warner had an opportunity to end the game single-handedly. However, his fingertips ended up inches away from possibly batting down a Rodgers pass that got the Packers to midfield.
What did the All-Pro linebacker learn from the experience?
"Just kind of having a little bit more situational awareness," Warner responded. "I look back at my play that I had. That first play of that drive, I could have started further back in my positioning, just so I was closer to that route. If I'm even five yards deeper to start, that's a no-play. I don't even think he throws that ball, and if he does, I pick it.
"We've just got to have better situational awareness, better communication throughout the entire backend. That starts with me."
The 49ers have moved past the heartbreaking loss. They are focused on the next task at hand — a divisional battle with the Seahawks.
"I'm on to Seattle," Warner said.
