GREEN BAY – It’s still tough to accept. The Packers are headed home for the off-season while the San Francisco 49ers prepare for the NFC Championship Game on Sunday.
“It stings,” said Packers Hall-of-Famer Mark Tauscher, of ESPN Wisconsin’s Wilde & Tausch. “The future is bright, but we should be playing next Sunday.”
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Green Bay was in control for much of the game, but gave up a late touchdown to San Francisco. An interception by quarterback Jordan Love put the game out of reach.
“We out-played San Francisco the entire way,” Tauscher lamented to Wis. Morning News on Monday. “But you can’t settle for field goals. You can’t make mistakes. Love was in command, (but) the pressure got to him. He missed throws (in the 4th quarter) that he didn’t miss earlier in the game.”
Tauscher expects the Packers to make a play for a new safety in the off-season. Safety Darnell Savage’s contract expired after the season.
The post-season experience will no doubt help a young Packers squad develop and grow, but the way it ended is leaving fans thinking what ‘woulda, coulda, shoulda’ happened.
“With all the youth, the season is a huge ‘atta-boy’ for (the front office and coaches), but it’s a huge gut punch that we could’ve (gone to the Super Bowl),” Tauscher admitted. “That sting will last for a life time.”
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