Robbie Gould sends 49ers to NFC Championship Game

Former Penn State kicker Robbie Gould is one game away from playing in the Super Bowl. The 15-year NFL veteran helped the San Francisco 49ers punch their ticket to the NFC Championship Game on Saturday night with a game-winning field goal from 45 yards to upset the No. 1 seed Green Bay Packers in Lambeau Field.

The sequence of events that led to Gould getting a chance for a game-winning field goal could not have been scripted. In a defensive battle highlighted by special teams plays, the 49ers tied the game at 10-10 with just under five minutes to play in the game when they blocked a Packers punt deep in the Green Bay end and made a short return for a touchdown. After the Green Bay offense got the ball back on the ensuing kickoff, the San Francisco defense forced a three-and-out aided by an illegal motion penalty on the Packers on first down and followed by a false start penalty on fourth down with the punt team on.

Then, with just four seconds remaining on the clock and San Francisco with the football at the Green Bay 28-yard line, Gould was set for one of the defining moments of his long career. And, as he typically has done in the postseason, Gould delivered.

Gould has still never missed a kick in postseason play. As noted by FOX before the game-winning field goal, Goul had connected on all 19 career postseason field goal attempts he lined up for. Fortunately for Gould, this was no jinx by the broadcast crew that provided the historical stat.

And, perhaps naturally, Gould’s success was celebrated by Twitter and Gould’s career began to be put in a broader perspective by some.

Gould and the Niners will face the winner of Sunday’s game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams.

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