SAN FRANCISCO - Two long touchdown drives by the Packers and a costly turnover by the 49ers helped stake Green Bay to a 17-6 halftime lead on Sunday at San Francisco's Monster Park.
The Packers opened the game with a promising drive inside the San Francisco 40, but a deep pass to Greg Jennings originally ruled complete at the 5-yard line was overturned when replays showed Jennings only got one foot in bounds.
The 49ers quickly got a big run from Frank Gore on their second offensive snap. Gore broke a pair of tackles on the right side and raced 72 yards to the Green Bay 2-yard line, where he was pushed out of bounds by Al Harris.
But with the help of an illegal substitution penalty on San Francisco, the Packers defense held. Charles Woodson broke up a third-down pass into the end zone intended for Bryan Gilmore, forcing a 24-yard field goal by Joe Nedney.
The Packers responded right away. A 21-yard pass to Donald Driver set up a 36-yard TD toss to Ruvell Martin, who was wide open down the far sideline off a play-fake and roll to his left by quarterback Brett Favre.
The touchdown was Martin's first NFL score and gave the Packers a 7-3 lead with 5:55 left in the first quarter.
A good bounce turned into good fortune for the Packers on their next series. From the San Francisco 46, Jon Ryan shanked a punt to the right, but the ball took a perfect bounce along the near sideline and rolled all the way to the 1, where Patrick Dendy downed it.
Two plays later, Gore fumbled a handoff and Woodson recovered, giving the Packers a first-and-goal on the 8-yard line. Green Bay couldn't fully capitalize, though, and had to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Dave Rayner for a 10-3 lead.
The Packers extended their lead on their next possession with a 13-play, 80-yard drive. Catches covering 19 and 22 yards by Driver and an 11-yard reception by Donald Lee moved Green Bay into the red zone. Consecutive grabs by Greg Jennings on quick swing passes put the ball on the 1, where Ahman Green ran it in for a 17-3 lead with 6:45 left in the half.
{sportsad300}The 49ers added another field goal to get within 17-6. A 13-yard completion to Gore converted a fourth-and-3 to the Green Bay 18-yard line, but the Packers defense forced three straight incompletions, and Nedney was good from 36 yards.
