Pats Fans welcome

[Prof_Plum]

Got a rule question - and I thought I knew about all rules.
It was near the end of the 3rd quarter with Atl having to punt. They let the play clock run out, hoping to get a 5 yd penalty to get a better punting angle. This left 3-4 sec on the game clock after the 'delay of game'. Next there may have been a commercial break. When coming back to the game, it's now the 4thQ and I'm pretty sure the announcers said the refs started the game clock and Atl let it run out.

I've never heard of the game clock being restarted following a delay of game. Maybe it happens all the time and I've never noticed. But if the game clock restarts after a delay of game this suggests the penalized team really never has to run a play and could just let the game clock run out - which is ridiculous.