The '19 Green Bay Packers: Running Out the Clock on Themselves
During the 2019 NFL season, the San Francisco 49ers played the Green Bay Packers in Santa Clara twice. They
won both games: the first game was
in the regular season and the other game was the NFC Championship Game. In
both games, the 49ers built massive leads in the first half and then watched the Packers run out the clock on themselves in the second half.
In the first game, the 49ers raced out to a 23-0 lead at halftime. The Packers had just three drives in the second half: a touchdown drive that lasted 8 minutes
and 34 seconds, a 6:26 drive in which the Packers turned the ball over on downs, and a 4:58 game-ending drive that resulted in no points. The Packers lost the
game 37-8. Packers quarterback and Cal alum Aaron Rodgers had one of his worst NFL games ever: he had just 104 passing yards on 33 passing attempts.
In the NFC Championship Game, the 49ers led the Packers 27-0 at halftime. Like in their first game with the 49ers, the Packers had some time-consuming drives
in the second half. The Packers scored touchdowns on their first three drives of the second half, but the three drives took them fourteen minutes and forty-two
seconds to complete. The Packers lost the game 37-20. Rodgers played much better in the second game: he threw for over 300 yards and had two touchdown passes.
The 49ers demonstrated how to overcome a 20+ point second-half deficit in a 2002 playoff game against
the New York Giants. The 49ers trailed the Giants 38-14 with less than nineteen minutes left and won 39-38. San Jose State alum Jeff Garcia led the comeback with
two touchdown passes and a touchdown run in the second half. Unlike the Packers, the 49ers scored their three second-half touchdowns fairly quickly. The
49ers' three second-half touchdown drives lasted a total of five minutes and one second!