SANTA CLARA, Calif. — It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact moment when the tone was set for the 49ers 37-20 punishment of the Packers Sunday in the NFC Championship game at Levi’s Stadium — a dominant victory that sends them to a delicious Super Bowl LIV matchup against the Chiefs on Feb. 2 in Miami.
It might have been Nov. 24, when the 49ers tore apart the Packers 37-8 at Levi’s Stadium.
It might have been the sight of former 49ers legends Steve Young and Jerry Rice kibitzing with current 49ers players on the field during warm-ups, with Rice, wearing a suit, at one point breaking onto a 100-yard dash from one goal line to the other — stirring the home crowd of 72,211 into a pregame frenzy.
It might have been the 36-yard scoring run by Raheem Mostert (who rushed for 220 yards on 29 carries). That was the first of his four rushing TDs in the game — on a third-and-8 play that gave the 49ers a 7-0 lead they’d never relinquish.
“We had a lot of respect for the Packers, but we felt like we could overwhelm them,’’ 49ers general manager John Lynch said.
A week after they rushed 47 times for 186 yards in a 27-10 rout of the Vikings in the divisional round, the 49ers ran the ball 42 times for 285 yards Sunday.
“It’s hard to beat us,’’ 49ers right tackle Mike McGlinchey said. “The last two weeks, it’s really hard to even stay with us.’’
Asked why he ran the ball so often, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, who was handed the George Halas Trophy that goes to the NFC champs by his father, Mike, in the postgame presentation, said simply: “Because it was working.’’
Jimmy Garoppolo, the 49ers quarterback, threw the ball only eight times in the game, completing six passes for 77 yards. He threw it only twice in the second half. Garoppolo might as well have taken a seat in the stands with family and friends for the game, because he was a spectator.
Garoppolo’s first pass in the second half didn’t come until eight minutes remained in the game.
“When they called that pass it was like we almost forgot how to pass block, because we hadn’t done it for so long in the game,’’ left tackle Joe Staley said.
“Until that drop back, I felt like I hadn’t taken a pass set in about 2 ¹/₂ hours,’’ McGlinchey said. “I almost forgot how to do it. That’s who we want to be.’’
Maybe the tone was set by rookie defensive lineman Nick Bosa’s 13-yard sack of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (31-of-39 for 326 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions) on the ensuring Green Bay possession.
Maybe it was the 54-yard field goal 49ers kicker Robbie Gould made for a 10-0 lead after Gould had been 0-for-4 on field-goal attempts of 50 or more yards this season.
It could have been the 15-yard sack of Rodgers and forced fumble by 49ers cornerback K’Waun Williams ending the Packers’ possession after the Gould field goal.
It could have been the six-play, 37-yard 49ers drive, on which they ran the ball on all six plays, to take a 17-0 lead on Mostert’s second TD, this one from 9 yards out with 9:12 remaining in the first half.
“We just never got a complete understanding of what they were trying to do throughout the game; we never got a grasp on it,’’ Packers linebacker Blake Martinez said.
Maybe the tone was set on the fumbled snap exchange between Packers center Corey Linsley and Rodgers that was recovered by 49ers defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and led to a 27-yard Gould field goal that gave San Francisco a 20-0 lead with 1:57 remaining in the first half.
Or it could have been 49ers cornerback Emmanuel Moseley picking off a Rodgers pass and giving San Francisco the ball on the Green Bay 30-yard line with 1:01 remaining in the first half, a turnover that led to Mostert’s 18-yard scoring run — his third TD of the game — that gave the 49ers a stunning 27-0 lead at the half.
Chances are, the answer to the question about what was the tone setter was this: All of the above.
The 49ers are now 15-3 this season and seeking their first Super Bowl title in 25 years.
“Incredible win … and now we’ve got one more to go,’’ McGlinchey said.
“Kyle and I trusted each other and came up with a vision,’’ Lynch said of their three years together in San Francisco. “We’re going to the Super Bowl. But no one remembers who goes, they remember who won.’’