After every Green Bay Packers game, we will talk about three points that defined the matchup.

The season was better than the Green Bay Packers could have expected, but it was just another painful, tough to swallow elimination to the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs. The Packers dominated the game, but let the win escape in the fourth quarter with a 24-21 loss in the divisional round, ending their special 2023 season.

Missed opportunities

The Packers had much more time of possession and much more yardage in the first half, but the missed opportunities were costly. Field goals instead of touchdowns, two dropped interceptions by Darnell Savage and Keisean Nixon, and a questionable fourth down spot that ended up not converted by the Packers decided the outcome of a game that was certainly winnable for the Packers.

In the fourth quarter, an amazing run by Aaron Jones set the Packers offense to score, but rookie kicker Anders Carlson missed another field goal — he's missed at least one kick in 11 of the last 14 games.

The Packers still had a chance to tie the game again, but Jordan Love threw an unnecessary forced pass that got intercepted, ending the game and the Packers season.

In general, it’s fair to say that the Packers played a better game than the 49ers. But a young team will make mistakes, and Green Bay had almost no margin for error against a more talented and ready team.

The kicker, again

The kicker has certainly been a much more frequent topic of conversation than he should be. But Anders Carlson makes everything difficult for the offense, because they are forced to score touchdowns. There’s no consistency, there’s no field goal range.

Fox’s Tom Rinaldi reported during the game that Matt LaFleur shared that "Every time he (Carlson) goes out there, I just pray.” You can’t live that way, and it’s not something new.

First of all, it’s a process mistake to draft a kicker. And if he is not good, they should just move on. Even understanding that special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia likes him and wants to develop him, the Packers should have added a kicker to the practice squad and elevated him for gameday — something I suggested here earlier this week.

Carlson missed kicks in 11 of the last 14 games. There’s no reason to be patient, because his college career doesn’t indicate a path for him to get better either.

In a year full of situations where general manager Brian Gutekunst was right, the one he got wrong ended up being costly.

Joe Barry, again

The Packers simply can’t trust their defense. To be fair, it wasn’t a terrible performance by the unit — and it was probably better than anticipated.

But Matt LaFleur has to build the entire gameplan in order to protect Joe Barry and the defense. Drives have always to be long, the run game has to work, everything has to be perfect. When the defense actually needs to play, they can’t.

The Packers controlled the clock and possession for most of the game, and that allowed the scoring to be low. But in the fourth quarter, with the game on the line, the unit gave up 10 points — including an easy Christian McCaffrey touchdown that sealed the game.

If Matt LaFleur needed any indication that he needs a new defensive coordinator, he shouldn’t anymore. The defense has talent, has good players, but they are simply less than the sum of its parts.

How five Packers players to watch performed vs 49ers

Green Bay lost 24-21 to San Francisco