Robbie Gould sent the ball up and though the uprights

Just a few hours after rookie Evan McPherson kicked a 52-yard game-winning field goal for the Cincinnati Bengals at Nashville’s Nissen Field, 38-year-old Robbie Gould did the same for the San Francisco 49ers with his 45-yard boot the winner at Lambeau Field Saturday night.

Both came on the National Football League game’s final play, with the 4th-seeded, underdog Bengals once again bailing out of yet another lengthy drought via the 19-16 first-game route over the top-seeded AFC’s Tennessee TItans, and followed by the 6th-seeded Niners getting past the NFC’s top-seeded Green Bay Packers on the 10-degrees’ frozen-like field.

Back in September, the Pack (13-5) edged San Francisco at Levi Field, 20-18, and this was the day the traveling 49ers (12-7) avenged that defeat and advanced to the road again by playing at either the defending NFL champion Tampa Bay Bucaneers or at the state-rival Los Angeles Rams, with the winner gaining the Feb. 13Super Bowl at the Rams’ sparkling-new SoFi Stadium.

It was only last year that ageless Tom Brady, at the age of 43, became the first quarterback to ever win the big game at home, now it could be LA, but first it has to eliminate Tampa Bay, which is no easy task as Brady goes for a second-straight Super Bowl after winning eight while with the New England Patriots.

Meanwhile, the Niners, as the snow began to fall onto the frozen turf in the final minutes, continued to win on the road again. It began in Arlington before a huge turnout of 93,000 at A T & T Stadium watching their 3rd-seeded Dallas Cowboys fall, and continued with this always-tough win at Lambeau Field, where the Pack had been 8-0 during the season.

Even before the opening kickoff, the odds favored Green Bay in what might have been veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers final game as he envisions retirement. He concluded by connecting on 19 of 25 passes for 221 yards and dropped to 0-4 in career playoff starts against San Francisco. He thus became the first QB in NFL history to lose four post-season games to a single opponent.

This was also the first time that both No. 1 seeds bowed out in the divisional round of the same season since 2010.

Said victorious quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in the final year of his contract: “It’s dangerous, man. When a team gets hot, it’s dangerous, so we’ve just got to keep this thing going, focus now on next week’s road trip, and keep this thing rolling.”

Green Bay, which earned the NFC’s top seed for a second-straight season but again failed to reach the big game. It hasn’t in fact made it to the Super Bowl since its 2010 championship campaign.

With temperatures down to 8 degrees at kickoff time Saturday night, the Packers, before the usual bundled-up capacity home crowd, went on top 7-0 after the opening quarter and that’s what it remained at halftime. In the third quarter, the Niners’ defense packed it in and they converted a 29-yard field goal by Gould to trim the gap to 7-3.

Until then, it was a one-touchdown tilt tallied by A.J. Dillion 6-yard scamper to cap a 69-yard drive, but Green Bay’s offense didn’t do much of anything after that. And while it settled for a 33-yard field goal by Mason Crosby in the fourth quarter, San Fran then pieced together a magical touchdown when Talopia Hufanga blocked a Corey Bojorquez punt at the Packers 6 and carried the ball into the end zone. Gould’s PAT made it 10-10.

After Green Bay went three and out, the 49ers got the ball back at their 29 with 3:20left and drove into field goal range as the clock ticked down. Their reliable running back Deebo Samuel first ran for nine yards on a third and 8 from the Packers’ 38, and when the clock ran down, they called on Gould.

Samuel also returned the second half kickoff for 45 yards to set up his team’s initial field goal after San Francisco overcame a brutal start from its offense, but Garoppolo came through when a big play was needed, and once again the flight home was a good one for the 6th-seed.

Now it’s up, up and away again for the Bay City team, either to Tampa Bay or a much shorter flight to the Rams. Win that one and it will return to the same site for the Super Bowl.