The Green Bay Packers were so close to beating the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round on Saturday. Unfortunately, a huge Jordan Love mistake denied them one final shot at victory.

After entering the fourth quarter with a 21-14 lead, the Packers found themselves trailing the 49ers 24-21 with just a minute left on the clock. That's still plenty of time to go down the field and make a final push to at least tie the game or score the game-winner; however, Love threw an interception that effectively ended their comeback hopes.

With 52 seconds left on the clock, Love found wide receiver Christian Watson in the middle of the field. The 25-year-old quarterback then proceeded to throw the deep and risky pass in hopes of scoring faster. But it ended up backfiring, with 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw intercepting the pass to seal the San Francisco victory.

Sure enough, plenty of fans and critics questioned Love's decision making at that moment. After all, there was a lot of time left and they were facing a first-and-10 situation. It wasn't the time to throw such high-risk, high-reward pass, especially with the Packers hoping to score.

“The Packers weren't expected to make it this far, but that one is gonna be tough to swallow. Two dropped picks, missed tackles, missed FG and some questionable throws by Love in the second half,” Matt Schneidman of The Athletic wrote.

“Welp. Cardinal sin; back and across. Love had been getting away with it so it’s hard to be too picky. Just bit him at the worst time,” Carolina Panthers reporter Kassidy Hill added.

Andrew Mason of Denver Sports added, “That’s a perfectly defensible throw on fourth-and-10 in a desperate situation. First-and-10? Woof.”

Another commenter noted, “Kind of rookie mistake Jordan Love hasn't made in quite some time.” A second critic added, “Jordan Love made the worst possible decision in the worst possible time. You never eeeeevvvvveeerrr pass across the field. Such a “rookie” mistake.”

Jordan Love admits Packers mistake

For what it's worth, Love admitted that he really made a mistake with the said pass. While he thought he had a clear look at Watson and would be able to connect the pass, he shared that he didn't notice the backside.

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“Play broke down, I was scrambling right, saw Christian (Watson) over the middle, and tried to force one into him. I thought I could make the play. I didn't see the backside. They made a great play,” Love detailed.

It's certainly quite the painful turn for the Packers. Many thought that they would be able to pull off another upset after shocking the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card round. It surely looked like they were on their way to win after leading for the most part of the contest.

Unfortunately, their inexperience showed against a team that has been battle-tested and proven in such stage. When the going gets tough, the 49ers buckled up both offensive and defensively, showing everyone the team that has made at least the conference championship in four of the last five seasons.

It's a massive learning moment for Love and the Packers. Hopefully, they remember the lesson and pain they endured on Saturday and use it as a motivation to bounce back higher next campaign. For now, the rest of Green Bay can reflect on the season they had and look at the areas where they can improve.