I've said it before in this series and I'll say it again: one of my favorite things about looking back at these games is being reminded of all the fun moments that happened throughout the course of the season. Something like a play or two here-or-there in the 2nd quarter that swung the game one way or another. When I think back on a season, I tend to remember the passing concepts used or the big moments. The moments late in the 4th quarter. That means some big, important sequences are normally kicking around in the outskirts of my brain, only accessible when I actually dig for them.

But this series? This series has brought them to the forefront and helped remind me just how much fun the 2019 season was.

We're up to Week 7. For Week 7, I remember the Aaron Jones touchdown on a seam wheel route and I remember that Aaron Rodgers had a perfect QB Rating.

The concept itself is art, by the way. pic.twitter.com/NUSTPUgK1H

— Dusty (@DustyEvely) April 1, 2020

Sure I remember other things, but those are the big ones.

Today, we're amping up this article and looking at 4 plays, all of which occurred in the last 3 minutes of the first half. Let's set it up.

Play 1: 1st & 10, 2:41 remaining in the 2nd quarter, Packers leading 14-10

The Packers were up 14-10 and were getting the ball to start the 2nd half, but the Raiders were hanging with them. On their first 3 drives, the Raiders gained a total of 148 yards (49.3 yards per drive). They scored a field goal on their first drive, punted on their second drive and scored a touchdown on their third drive. 

On their first 3 drives, the Packers gained 181 yards (60.3 yards per drive), scoring touchdowns on drives 1 and 3 and punting on drive 2. So the Packers had outperformed the Raiders through the first 3 drives, but the Raiders were driving at the end of the first half and were looking to take the lead.

After picking up 24 yards on their first 2 plays of the drive, the Raiders broke out a beauty.

Darren Waller [83] is lined-up off the left side of the line. He's running up the seam, ahead of a wheel route from the backfield. It's the same basic concept as the Aaron Jones touchdown I showed at the top of this article, but they have an additional vertical route. We've got the flat route to widen the defense and a go route to occupy a safety, but this version has Waller releasing from his TE position up the seam.

The Packers are sitting in a Quarters shell. One safety to that side picks up the go route on the outside, one picks up the wheel, and Waller slips up the seam. Beautiful play design.

Will Redmond [25] plays the role of hero here. He is sitting back in zone on the other side. After the ball is thrown, Redmond sprints back and is able to bring down Waller at the 3 yard line. That tackle ends up being huge.

Play 2: 1st & goal, 2:00 remaining in the 2nd quarter, Packers leading 14-10

The Raiders were looking to pound the ball on 1st down to get into the end zone. Up until this point in the game, Josh Jacobs [28] had rushed for 67 yards on 9 attempts (7.4 yards per carry). Those numbers are good, but the consistency wasn't really there. He gained 42 yards on his 3rd carry of the game. If you take that out, he had 25 yards on 8 carries (3.1 yards per carry). Yes, they gave up a big play, but they did a pretty good job of bottling him up on a play-by-play basis.

On this play, Preston Smith [91] and Adrian Amos [31] are on the right. The Raiders are looking to kick out Smith and have Jacobs follow Alec Ingold [45] to the end zone.

Amos meets Ingold in the hole and blows him him, knocking him back into the path of Jacobs. That forces Jacobs to widen his path and looks to hit the edge. 

Preston Smith is in total control of his match-up with Foster Moreau [87]. As soon as Jacobs widens for the edge, Smith jumps to the outside. Jacobs then jumps to the inside, but Smith is able to rip back to the inside. Smith wraps up Jacobs and gets an assist from B.J. Goodson [93] to stop Jacobs at the 2 yard line.

Play 3: 1st & goal, 1:55 remaining in the 2nd quarter, Packers leading 14-10

They couldn't get in on the ground, so the Raiders go to the air, flooding the defense with 3 routes. Two of them are covered well, but the flat route to Jacobs looks promising for a second. Redmond is attacking off the edge, and it looks like Jacobs will be able to run right by him. But Redmond recovers perfectly and falls under the route of Jacobs. 

Carr is rolling right with no targets. To put him in more of a pinch, Blake Martinez [50] is reading him from the middle of the field and makes a break for the sideline to cut off a scramble attempt. 

And scramble he does. He dives for the front pylon, but, in doing so, he loses the ball and fumbles into the end zone. Instead of scoring a touchdown and taking the lead, the Raiders give the ball to the Packers on the 20 yard line.

Play 4: 2nd & 3, 0:20 remaining in the 2nd quarter, Packers leading 14-10

After the turnover, the Packers picked up 43 yards - 15 on a roughing the passer penalty - and found themselves on the Raiders 37 yard line with 20 seconds remaining in the half and no timeouts.

The Raiders are showing a two-high look and the Packers roll with a four verticals concept. After the snap, the Raiders fall into a Quarters shell. Aaron Rodgers [12] works his reads from left-to-right. When he gets to Jimmy Graham [80], he sees the safety drifting down to pick him up. That means his final read - Jake Kumerow [16] on the outside - is alone against the zone defender to that side. The defender is trailing and inside so Rodgers hits him over the top.

It's a perfect throw and Kumerow is able to toe-tap his way to a touchdown.

Making it through this week like pic.twitter.com/vG3y5LHbzG

— Dusty (@DustyEvely) April 1, 2020

The Packers went into the half up 21-10 and scored touchdowns on their first two drives of the 2nd half. Over the course of two drives, the game swung completely. It's always amazing to me how quickly that can happen. 

If you're looking to relive some passing concepts from this game, you're in luck! You can find those here.

Albums listened to: Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud; Brian Fallon - Local Honey; Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden; Title Fight - Hyperview