GREEN BAY, Wis. — A healthy Marquise Goodwin took his top off and then he took the top off. But it wasn’t enough.
The San Francisco 49ers' de facto No. 1 receiver began his night at Lambeau Field with an animated on-field warm-up without a shirt in the midst of chilly temperatures in the mid-30s. He followed by scorching the back end of the Green Bay Packers‘ defense for most of the first half. He ended it by watching helplessly as C.J. Beathard‘s third-down deep ball fell inches in front of him into the arms of Packers cornerback Kevin King.
King’s interception set up Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers for some of his trademark fourth-quarter magic, leading Green Bay to a 33-30 victory on Monday Night Football.
For the Niners, Goodwin’s outburst had been six weeks in the making after a series of stops and starts caused by various injuries. Goodwin suffered a hamstring injury early that limited him to 15 snaps in the season opener against Minnesota. He sat the following week against Detroit and came back in Week 3 against the Kansas City Chiefs. That return was short-lived as Goodwin aggravated the injury against the Chargers the following week and then sat out last week’s game against Arizona.
This week, for the first time since the opener, Goodwin was a full participant in practice and coach Kyle Shanahan said he was “full go.” For San Francisco, that meant the return of its most productive wideout of a season ago and the one weapon in its arsenal capable of consistently leaving defenders in his wake.
Goodwin said he wanted to send a message with his shirtless pregame routine.
“It’s just something that I like to send a message, whether it be to my teammates (or) the people we’re competing against, that the weather is a non-factor and you just can’t really worry about it.”
It didn’t take long for Goodwin to make his presence felt against Green Bay. Trailing 17-7 with 27 seconds left in the first quarter, Niners quarterback C.J. Beathard dropped straight back as his teammates picked up a Packers blitz. Goodwin sprinted down the middle of the field as Beathard let it fly, well aware that Goodwin’s track speed would allow him to run past remaining Packers defenders and under the ball.
Beathard’s pass dropped softly into Goodwin’s hands at about Green Bay’s 25 as he evaded a tackle attempt and coasted into the end zone for a 67-yard touchdown. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the 48.6 yards of air distance was the most on a 49ers completion this season and the third most on a Beathard throw in his career (the two that went deeper also were to Goodwin).
Goodwin’s work wasn’t done there, however, as he soon added a 30-yard touchdown with about six minutes left in the second quarter to put the Niners in the lead with the extra point. Goodwin’s speed was again at play on that score, as Packers cornerback Tramon Williams offered a huge cushion and Goodwin turned him around for an easy catch and run for his second score.
In the first half alone, Goodwin had three catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns. His yardage output was the most in a first half by a Niner since tight end Vernon Davis posted 171 yards against Arizona almost exactly five years ago. He finished with four catches for 126 yards with the two scores.
“That changes it, it’s a big difference,” running back Matt Breida said. “That stretches the defense back and makes them not put eight guys in the box the whole time. You guys started seeing those runs pop off. They were scared of Marquise in the deep threat so I feel like having him back helps our offense a lot.”
The threat of Goodwin forced the Packers to back up and respect the danger his speed provides. It opened running lanes, especially on the outside, for backs Breida and Raheem Mostert, who combined for 148 yards on 26 carries.
It also allowed Shanahan to keep Green Bay’s defense off-balance for most of the night and took pressure off of Beathard, who was making just his eighth career start and his first in prime time.
“It makes a huge difference,” Shanahan said. “It’s been awhile since ‘Quise has been out there, especially full go. He made some big plays today that helped us and it’s good to have him back.”
But when the Niners needed Goodwin and the offense the most, they failed to come through. The final interception wasn’t Goodwin’s fault so much as it was the cap on a sudden and surprising lack of production for the Niners’ offense. Given two chances to salt the game away in the fourth quarter, the Niners went three and out for the first time all night. And with a chance to win it, Beathard and Goodwin couldn’t connect again.
“It wasn’t ideally what we wanted,” Shanahan said. “They all out blitzed us, we had to get rid of it, there was four options on the play but that wasn’t the one that we wanted.”
Rodgers promptly led another drive for the game-winning field goal.
Goodwin gave the Niners a chance to win a game many believed they couldn’t. But in a game that was there for the taking, it ultimately left the 49ers with that same old sinking feeling.