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          Blocked punt by 49ers ties game with Packers late in the fourth quarter

          • Rob Demovsky
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            Rob Demovsky
            ESPN Staff Writer
              Rob Demovsky is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Green Bay Packers. He has covered the Packers since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2013. Demovsky is a two-time Wisconsin Sportswriter of the Year as selected by the NSSA. You can follow him on Twitter at @RobDemovsky.
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          • Nick Wagoner
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            Nick Wagoner
            ESPN Staff Writer
              Nick Wagoner is an NFL reporter at ESPN. Nick has covered the San Francisco 49ers and the NFL at ESPN since 2016, having previously covered the St. Louis Rams for 12 years, including three years (2013 to 2015) at ESPN. In his 10 years with the company, Nick has led ESPN's coverage of the Niners' 2019 Super Bowl run, Colin Kaepernick's protest, the Rams making Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, Sam's subsequent pursuit of a roster spot and the team's relocation and stadium saga. You can follow Nick via Twitter @nwagoner
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          Jan 23, 2022, 01:33 AM

          GREEN BAY, Wis. -- With their offense struggling mightily, the San Francisco 49ers finally got points from the place you'd least expect it.

          On fourth-and-19 from Green Bay's 12, Niners defensive end Jordan Willis burst through the middle and blocked punter Corey Bojorquez's punt. The ball popped straight into the air before finally landing near rookie safety Talanoa Hufanga.

          Hufanga scooped it up at Green Bay's 6 and coasted into the end zone for San Francisco's first touchdown of the night. Robbie Gould's extra point tied it at 10 with 4:41 to go.

          Aaron Rodgers, Packers settle for field goal in fourth

          What looked like a promising start with a game-opening touchdown drive turned into a six-drive scoreless streak that was only broken with a 33-yard field that gave the Green Bay Packers a 10-3 lead with 11:27 left in the fourth quarter.

          They had not gone six straight drives without points since Jordan Love started against the Kansas City Chiefs on Nov. 7. And they had only done that with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback once this season - when they had eight straight empty possessions in the season-opening loss to the Saints.

          Game-opening drives weren't the Green Bay Packers' thing in the regular season. That changed on their first drive of the postseason.

          After scoring only three opening-drive touchdowns in the regular season -- six fewer than they had the year before -- the Packers marched down the field to open Saturday's NFC divisional game against the 49ers.

          It featured a whole lot of Davante Adams -- three catches for 35 yards -- with some Aaron Jones (a 19-yard catch and run) and AJ Dillon, who capped with a 6-yard touchdown run.

          The Packers were outscored by 33 in the first quarter in the regular season, the sixth-worst total in the NFL.

          The Packers threatened to extend the lead late in the second quarter when Rodgers hit Jones on a 75-yard pass, but Mason Crosby's 39-yard field goal attempt was blocked.