Dre Greenlaw called his shot before 49ers' game-saving play
With his second interception that sealed victory for the San Francisco 49ers against the Green Bay Packers, Dre Greenlaw became the first linebacker with a pair of picks in a playoff game for 22 years. Not since Tommy Polley of the St. Louis Rams intercepted Brett Favre twice in the divisional round of the 2001 […]
With his second interception that sealed victory for the San Francisco 49ers against the Green Bay Packers, Dre Greenlaw became the first linebacker with a pair of picks in a playoff game for 22 years.
Not since Tommy Polley of the St. Louis Rams intercepted Brett Favre twice in the divisional round of the 2001 playoffs had a linebacker achieved the feat, with no member of the 49ers having intercepted two passes in a playoff game since Eric Davis in the NFC Championship Game of the 1994 season.
But after his first interception, Greenlaw called his shot, predicting he would get another on the sideline in an exchange with linebacker coach Johnny Holland broadcast on 'Inside the NFL'.
He was a man of his word, picking off a throw back across the middle from Jordan Love to ice a 24-21 victory to send the 49ers back to the conference title game. He couldn't quite emulate Polley, who returned one of his two picks for a touchdown, though it was not for lack of trying on a slaloming and ill-advised run back in the final seconds.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan said of Greenlaw's thoughts on his risky decision:
"I think he's glad that it ended the way it did and I don't think he'll ever make that mistake again. We didn't get on him too hard, but he could tell how big of a deal it was after. We're very appreciative he made the play, but stuff can flip very fast and you can ruin some of the best plays ever if you give a team any more of a chance. The way that game was going, we didn't need to give them any more chances. So, I think he learned his lesson. Hopefully we'll never have to deal with that again."
Greenlaw is not the first 49er to call his shot in the playoffs, wide receiver Deebo Samuel famously doing so before a 23-yard touchdown run in their wild-card round win over the Dallas Cowboys in the 2021 season.
San Francisco's stars appear to have good predictive powers in the postseason, and the 49ers will hope another one steps up and backs up a bold claim in the NFC Championship Game versus the Detroit Lions.
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