49ers live updates: Niners host Packers in divisional-round playoff game

The 49ers face the Packers Saturday night at Levi’s Stadium in their debut for this postseason.

No. 1 seed San Francisco is a 10-point favorite in the game, according to most sportsbooks. Seventh-seeded Green Bay enters after upsetting the Dallas Cowboys on the road last weekend in the wild-card round.

Follow along with our updates below:

Pregame: It’s 58 degrees and rainy in Santa Clara as the teams prepare for kickoff. The Packers won the toss and chose to receive.

1Q, 7:22 – Packers 3, 49ers 0: Green Bay found good rhythm on the ground on its first possession, riding Aaron Jones for 26 yards as the Packers took 14 plays to go 58 yards. The 49ers’ defense bowed up near the goal line and forced a 29-yard field goal by Anders Carlson.

End of 1Q – Packers 3, 49ers 0: The 49ers’ first drive stalled and Deebo Samuel was evaluated for a head injury after taking a hard hit while fighting for yards. He was cleared to return during the Packers’ ensuing possession.

2Q, 8:42 – 49ers 7, Packers 3: Brock Purdy hit George Kittle for a 32-yard touchdown pass down the middle on third-and-5 after the offensive line picked up a Green Bay blitz. They had three third-down conversions on the possession. The 49ers started the drive at their own 14-yard line after stopping Jordan Love on a fourth-down quarterback sneak.

2Q, 4:09 – 49ers 7, Packers 6: Green Bay drove 64 yards but again had to settle for a 29-yard Anders Carlson field goal as the 49ers’ defense strengthened in a goal-to-go scenario. The game has gotten chippier after a shoving match when Love was pushed out of bounds by Deommodore Lenoir on a legal hit. Also, Samuel is now questionable to return with a shoulder injury.

2Q, 0:05 – 49ers 7, Packers 6: The Niners move down the field as the rain picks up, getting into field goal range just before the half, but Jake Moody’s 48-yard attempt is tipped at the line by Green Bay’s Colby Wooden. The 49ers have a one-point lead and will receive the ball after halftime.

3Q, 9:27 – Packers 13, 49ers 7: The Packers stopped the 49ers on their opening drive as Deebo Samuel came out of the locker room in street clothes, signaling he is out for the game. Then, Green Bay drove 75 yards for a touchdown, aided largely by the 49ers’ secondary. Ambry Thomas committed pass interference on a deep third-down heave by Love to Bo Melton. One play later, Love found Melton wide open down the right sideline for a 19-yard touchdown.

3Q, 7:39 – 49ers 14, Packers 13: The Niners answered back quickly as Christian McCaffrey broke a tackle and bolted 39 yards for a touchdown. The score was set up by a 36-yard catch-and-run by George Kittle on third-and-6 from the Niners’ own 29-yard line.

3Q, 5:23 – Packers 21, 49ers 14: The game has sped up significantly as there have been three touchdowns over the last four minutes, four seconds. Keisean Nixon took the 49ers’ kickoff 73 yards before fumbling when he was tackled. Packers linebacker Eric Wilson recovered the fumble and four plays later, Love hit Tucker Kraft for a 2-yard touchdown pass. Aaron Jones caught the 2-point conversion to put the Packers ahead by seven points.

4Q, 14:56 – Packers 21, 49ers 17: Moody drilled a 52-yard field goal after a Dre Greenlaw interception on a tipped Love pass set up the Niners at the Green Bay 48-yard line. Brock Purdy was just 1-for-4 on the possession as the Packers kept him off balance with its pass rush.

4Q, 6:18 – Packers 21, 49ers 17: Carlson missed a 41-yard field goal wide left to keep the Packers’ lead at four. Green Bay drove 67 yards on six plays to set up the attempt, including a 53-yard run by Aaron Jones on a toss play.

4Q, 1:07 – 49ers 24, Packers 21: Christian McCaffrey punched the ball in from 6 yards out on third-and-1 to give the 49ers their first lead of the fourth quarter. San Francisco went 69 yards on 12 plays. Brandon Aiyuk made a key third-down catch to keep the drive alive.

4Q, 0:34 – 49ers 24, Packers 21: Dre Greenlaw picks off a desperation pass from Jordan Love to seal the 49ers’ win.

Below are our notes from before kickoff.

SANTA CLARA — The hope was defensive end Clelin Ferrell, who had a knee injury in the regular season finale, would be able to return for the NFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl should the 49ers get that far.

That won’t happen. Ferrell was placed on injured reserve Saturday, which carries a four-game minimum absence and means the 17-game starter won’t play again this season. The good news for the 49ers is that linebacker Dre Greenlaw, listed as questionable with Achilles tendonitis, is active and will start.

Ferrell was placed on IR in advance of Saturday’s divisional playoff game against the Green Bay Packers (5:15 p.m., Fox) in order to activate safety and special teams player George Odum, who missed the last six games of the season on the injured list after a torn biceps. The 49ers also activated two practice squad players — defensive lineman T.Y. McGill and Alex Barrett.

Ferrell signed a one-year contract with the 49ers worth $2.5 million as a free agent after the Raiders declined the fifth-year option on his rookie contract. Ferrell was the No. 4 overall pick and the Ted Hendricks Award winner as the nation’s top defensive lineman out of Clemson the same year Nick Bosa was No. 2. While Ferrell never was as dominant as his draft status would indicate, he had a solid year for the 49ers with Bosa saying “Clelin had the best effort on the team.”

In 17 games, Ferrell had 28 tackles, 3 1/2 sacks and 13 quarterback hits. He had 2 1/2 sacks and four quarterback hits in his final five games.

Chase Young, acquired by trade from Washington, will start and play an expanded role.

INACTIVES: Designated as inactive for the 49ers are quarterback Brandon Allen, tackle Matt Pryor, wide receiver Ronnie Bell, linebacker Jalen Graham and cornerback Samuel Womack as well as Barrett and McGill.

Elevating Barrett and McGill to the 53-man roster gives them a pay bump as a reward for their practice squad performance this season as opposed to the practice squad rate.

The return of wide receiver Jauan Jennings and Odum led to Bell and Womack being inactive.

For the Packers, cornerback Jaire Alexander (ankle) is active and expected to start. The inactive players are wide receiver Malik Heath, running back A.J. Dillon, safety Benny Sapp, linebacker Kingsley Enagbare, linebacker Brenton Cox Jr. and tackle Caleb Jones.

MOSTERT MEMORIES: The last time the 49ers played the Packers in the postseason at Levi’s Stadium, Raheem Mostert rushed for 220 yards on 29 carries with four touchdowns after a modest regular season in which he led the team with 772 yards rushing and didn’t start for the 49ers.

The 49ers rushed for 285 yards on 42 attempts and weren’t compelled to pass after jumping to a 27-0 halftime lead. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was 6 of 8 for 77 yards and threw only two passes in the second half. At that point, Mostert had 160 yards on 14 carries including a 36-yard touchdown run that opened the scoring.

Linebacker Oren Burks, who played for the Packers in 2019, remembers it well.

“That was the game plan at the beginning, to stop the run,” Burks said this week. “We couldn’t get that done, and in the NFL you’ve got to figure out a way to stop the run.”

DIVISIONAL DOMINANCE: The 49ers come into the game with an 18-7 record in divisional round games dating back to the NFL-AFL merger in 1970 and have won the last six straight over Dallas (19-12 in 2022), the Packers (13-10 in 2021), Minnesota (27-10 in 2019), Carolina (23-10 in 2013), Green Bay (45-31 in 2012) and New Orleans (36-32 in 2011).

The last 49ers loss in the divisional round was 31-6 at Tampa Bay in 2002, with the Buccaneers going on to beat Philadelphia for the NFC title and then the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXV.

The NFC Championship Game has been a different story. After those 18 divisional wins, the 49ers are 7-11 with a berth in the Super Bowl on the line, including losses in each of the past two seasons to Philadelphia (31-7) and the L.A. Rams (20-17).

The win have come against the Packers (37-20 in 2019), Atlanta (28-24 in 2012), Dallas (38-28 in 1994), the L.A. Rams (30-3 in 1989), Chicago (28-3 in 1988 and 23-0 in 1984) and Dallas (28-27 in 1981).

LOOKING FOR 55: A win over Green Bay would advance the 49ers’ season another week and assure a 55th playoff game since 1980. That would tie New England for the most in the NFL during that span.