Studs and duds from Packers’ 34-17 win over 49ers

The Green Bay Packers had little trouble dispatching the depleted San Francisco 49ers on Thursday night at Levi’s Stadium, using four touchdown passes from Aaron Rodgers and another sublime performance from receiver Davante Adams to race past the defending NFC champions in Week 9.

Here are the studs and duds from the Packers’ win over the 49ers:

Studs

WR Davante Adams: He beat each of the 49ers’ top three cornerbacks for plays of at least 30 yards. His twisting catch bested Emmanuel Mosley in the end zone for a 36-yard score on the opening drive. The play required incredible body control, both to spin open late and stay in bounds. Jason Verrett had no chance on a well-executed stop-and-go route for 49 yards. The play should have resulted in a 77-yard touchdown but Adams couldn’t tightrope the sideline. Later, he smoked Jamar Taylor off the line from the slot for 34 easy yards on third down. The slot fade to Adams is indefensible without help over the top. Even Aaron Rodgers was amazed he finished an incredibly tough catch on 4th-and-short with Taylor all over him. Adams took the final 10 plays off but still finished with 10 catches, 173 yards, 63 yards after the catch, six first downs and a score.

QB Aaron Rodgers: He played decisively again, all but negating any potential impact from the 49ers’ pass rush. Of his 33 dropbacks, only five included pressure, mostly because the ball was coming quick or out on time. Given a clean pocket on 28 dropbacks, he completed 24 passes, had a batted ball and a drop. Of his 305 passing yards, 171 came on four completions thrown over 20 yards in the air, including touchdown passes to Adams and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. His deep accuracy was commendable again, although he’d probably like back a miss to Adams on the scramble drill in the first half. On throws 10 yards or under, he completed 21 of 23 attempts, showcasing his point guard distribution ability. After turning the ball over four times against the 49ers last season, he had no turnover-worthy plays on Thursday night.

RB Tyler Ervin: The Packers provided him with 12 touches on just 22 snaps. He rushed eight times for 24 yards and caught four passes for another 48. His 12 touches produced five first downs. A reversed spot overruled a sixth. He gained eight yards on a run against an 8-man box in the fourth quarter, but his best work came in the passing game. Not only did he looked explosive chewing up yards on a screen play, but he also caught two passes from traditional receiver spots and looked comfortable tracking the ball and securing the catch. Earlier, he was the outlet for Rodgers after running the fly motion and turned a short pass to the flat into 11 yards. It’s easy to see why the Packers love him. He’s a versatile weapon and should probably see the ball more down the stretch.

OLB Za’Darius Smith: He made easy work of left tackle Justin Skule. Late in the second quarter, he worked through the chip from the tight end and beat Skule with an outside move before hitting Nick Mullens and nearly creating an interception. Later, he put the same move on Skule and won easily, creating instant pressure and providing an opportunity to strip-sack Mullens for a takeaway. Credit him for attacking the football to finish the play. The Packers wanted more strip-sacks in 2020. A drive later, Smith beat the pulling guard and dumped Jerick McKinnon for a loss.

C Corey Linsley: Once again, he didn’t allow a single pressure, and he helped his quarterback navigate around several different blitz looks from 49ers coordinator Robert Saleh. The musical chairs along the Packers offensive line hasn’t bothered him one bit. He’s the steady, constant force. When the Packers spring runs into the second level, you can always count on seeing No. 63 executing a reach block or a combo block at the point of attack.

Duds

LS Hunter Bradley: His low snap on the first play of the second quarter nearly (and really should have) resulted in a blocked punt. J.K. Scott had to bend and catch it before it skimmed off the ground and created a real problem. Later, his fourth-quarter snap moved Scott a step to the right.

LB Krys Barnes: He played 23 snaps before departing with a calf injury. The rookie is a tough customer against the run and isn’t afraid to play downhill and hit people, but he’s a liability right now on passing downs. Teams are moving him easily from spots with misdirection and run fakes. Twice, a play-action fake got Barnes going forward and out of position, opening up passing lanes behind him for big plays.

CB Ka’dar Hollman: A miscommunication of some sort between him and Stanford Samuels must have created the late touchdown. Both Hollman and Samuels covered the slot receiver, leaving Richie James wide open for an easy touchdown. It appeared Samuel made the right adjustment and Hollman didn’t. He also missed a tackle in the open field.

List

Good, bad and ugly from Packers' 34-17 win over 49ers