Packers DB who got lucky his fumble bounced to his teammate in playoff game says Green Bay let the 49ers off the hook
Packers DB who got lucky his fumble bounced to his teammate in playoff game says Green Bay let the 49ers off the hook
Offseason propaganda must be stopped. It’s out of hand. It hasn’t been a quarter of a year without football, and fans from all teams get excited over meaningless workout videos or a player doing an individual drill during OTAs.
In this case, Green Bay Packers nickel cornerback Keisean Nixon explained why the Packers almost had perfect attendance in OTAs:
“I mean, I feel like we let a team off the hook in the playoffs and we know that. Everybody on this team on a mission and we ready to win a Super Bowl. We all here locked in. It shows that we ain’t nothing to play with.”
Voluntary. These are voluntary workouts in May. San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle, arguably the best player in the NFL at his position, was on hand in shorts and a T-shirt during Tuesday’s OTA session. One of the MVP finalists, as a running back, was nowhere to be found, and his head coach was hardly concerned.
Quarterback Brock Purdy had a different tone, especially pertaining to Nick Bosa being present:
“I mean, it’s sweet. You could tell it means something to him. To show up phase three, practicing on the field, it’s pretty special. For all of us to see that, it’s like ‘All right, if Bosa is taking it serious, then we all should.’ But regardless, being out in the field, giving our guys looks, the offensive line looks, for myself, pocket movement, all that kind of stuff, it’s huge. And like I said, you can’t get enough reps of it. But for him to be back in the building around the guys, it means a lot. And so, it makes all of us excited to start rolling for the season.”
Back to Nixon and “letting the 49ers off the hook.” Deommodore Lenoir got wind of the tweet Wednesday morning:
The Detroit Lions have an argument. The Packers? Not so much. Green Bay threw an interception, punted, missed a field goal, and threw another interception on their final four offensive possessions of the game.
The weather undoubtedly contributed to a poor Brock Purdy performance before the Niners kicked it in gear in the second half. Even when the Packers scored to go up 21-14—thanks to Nixon’s 73-yard kick return (he was fortunate that the ball bounced to his teammate after he fumbled)—it never felt like Green Bay was in control of the game or would prevail victorious.
Watching the playoff games in public spaces to get a feel for how 49ers fans were feeling about their chances was an entertaining part of the playoffs. The fans I was around had nerves, no doubt, but they weren’t close to the level of animosity in the NFC Championship.
Regardless, spinning the narrative in your favor and using it as a reason to show up to something you’re not required to in May is cheesy for the cheeseheads.