Two pivotal plays from Xavier McKinney helps turn tide for Packers vs 49ers

Paul Bretl | 11/25/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The game ended as an easy 38-10 victory for the Packers over the 49ers. However, in the process of getting to that point were two crucial plays by Xavier McKinney on back-to-back possessions to begin the second half when the Niners were still in striking distance.

Following a late first-half touchdown, San Francisco cut the Packers lead to 17-7, and the 49ers started with the ball in the second half. Led by Christian McCaffrey and the run game, the 49ers were again driving on that opening third-quarter possession, making their way down to the Green Bay 39-yard, where, at a minimum, they were on the cusp of field goal range and making it a one-score game.

Facing a 3rd-and-8 from the Packers’ 45, Niners’ quarterback Brandon Allen would scramble to his left but be pushed out of bounds by McKinney to force a 4th-and-2 at the aforementioned 39-yard line.

With Christian McCaffrey lined up in the slot, he would run a quick out route a few yards beyond the first down marker. Wide receiver Jauan Jennings, who was lined up closely to McCaffrey’s left, would run and in-breaking route, with the two players crossing within a yard of each other. But McKinney was all over it. The second McCaffrey put his foot in the ground to begin his cut, McKinney navigated around Jennings and undercut McCaffrey’s route for the pass breakup.

“That’s what I came here to do,” said Xavier McKinney at his locker. “That’s why I was brought in, to be able to make big-time plays when we really need it, so credit to a great call with Haf. Credit to everybody doing they job and that’s just going out there and me being able to make a play. That’s really it.”

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Then on the second 49ers’ possession of the half, following a Packers’ punt, San Francisco was again driving into Green Bay territory. Again trying to lean on the run game, the 49ers gave the ball to McCaffrey on first and second downs, but TJ Slaton was there to limit him to rushes of two yards and no gain.

Now in a 3rd-and-8 situation from the Packers’ 45 yard line, the 49ers had to pass. Allen dropped back and threw over the middle to Deebo Samuel. The Pass was a bit behind and went through Samuel’s hands and to McKinney who was the defender over the top, positioned perfectly as he always is.

McKinney would then return the interception 48 yards to the 49ers’ 26-yard line. Three plays later, the Packers’ offense would score a touchdown, giving them a 24-7 lead and the 49ers were never a threat from that point on.

“They were dropping a lot of passes, so I kinda played for the tip,” McKinney said of the interception. “I saw what was in front of me, but I kinda figured that that one probably was gonna get straight through the hands because it seemed like to be a thing pretty much the whole game, so I just played for the tip and luckily it bounced right to me and I was in the right spot and I was able to make the play.”

In the grand scheme of what ended up being blowout victory, these two plays could be forgotten about, to some degree. But they were pivotal moments in the second half that propelled the Packers to their big win. All it takes is some combination of a field goal or touchdown on either or both possessions and this game takes on a completely different dynamic.

These types of game-altering plays, of course, aren’t new for McKinney. He’s been doing it since he arrived in Green Bay. That interception is now McKinney’s seventh of the season, which is tied for the most in football. According to Pro Football Focus, McKinney is surrendering just one reception every 35.4 snaps, one of the highest-marks in football. Quarterbacks are only throwing his direction once every 23.6 snaps–again, one of the highest rates this season.

“It’s pretty special,” Evan Williams said of McKinney. “The ball finds him and that’s not a surprise or by chance at all. It’s just him putting himself in those situations and being in the right spot at the right time so if anything happens where it’s not a catch, he’s going to be in the right place to make a play. And he certainly makes the most of his opportunities, to say the least.”

McKinney is a force multiplier. His impact goes beyond just the stat sheet. His versatility provides Jeff Hafley flexibility as he puts together the gameplan, mixing and matching what role he asks McKinney to fill depending on the opponent, not to mention that he enhances Hafley’s ability to disguise coverages. Where McKinney is lined up pre-snap doesn’t mean that’s where he’s going to be when the quarterback hits the top of his drop.

In addition to that, as the numbers above illustrate, the field shrinks for offenses with McKinney out there because of the attention he garners and quarterbacks not wanting to throw his direction. All of this has a positive trickle-down effect to the rest of the defense, helping to put the other members of the secondary in advantageous situations.

The results and big plays that we see on Sundays from McKinney begins early, very early, in the week with his preparation. There is a relentlessness to McKinney and his work ethic. A prime example of this came right after the team’s win in Jacksonville. As the players and coaches are on the buses to be taken to the airport, McKinney sends defensive backs coach Ryan Downard, who was on a separate bus, asking if he has the Jared Goff tape yet–the Packers’ next opponent–so McKinney could dive in.

This is just one anecdote, but it’s not a one-off either. This is who McKinney is, and it’s a key part of what makes him so special.

“You send it to him,” said Hafley, using the third-down gameplan as an example, “and then this morning he comes in before anybody else and he wants to sit down and meet and he wants me to go over it with him. And then he goes over it with RD (Ryan Downard) and the DBs, and he does it in the walk-through and he does it on the field, because he wants to get it right, right away, and he gets angry when he doesn’t, because that’s what the great ones do.

“And he holds himself to such ahigh standard where he doesn’t want to make mistakes, and it shows. That’s what your really good players, every play matters, just like it does to us. So that’s the biggest kind of look-in I can give you to what he’s like. He’s always wanting to be on top of his stuff. The details, the execution, the competitor. That’s who he is, and that’s why he’s a really good player.”

To land McKinney in free agency, the Packers gave him a four-year, $67 million deal. The nearly $17 million per year that McKinney is earning makes him the fourth-highest-paid safety in football–a deal that looks like a bargain, given his impact both on and off the field.

Without those two crucial plays from McKinney on Sunday, perhaps the Packers still win–they were up 10 points after all, so we can’t confidently say the outcome would have changed. But what it is safe to say is that the Packers aren’t 8-3 if they don’t have McKinney.

“Any (time) that you can take the ball away and get yards after it, it’s a big deal,” said Keisean Nixon. “X is — seven picks now? I think that was a big-ass free-agent signing, but it’s kudos to him and his preparation. I see him come in the building every day and do the same thing.”