Pack is back: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay rout Seahawks 38-10
GENARO C. ARMAS, AP Sports Writer
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers moved right out of the pocket, found Davante Adams running down the right sideline and tossed a perfect pass into his receiver's hands.
Adams cut left as his defender slipped before racing to the end zone for a tone-setting touchdown on the opening drive of a decisive 38-10 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. On that same play, Rodgers hurt his right calf .
Rodgers finished with 246 yards and three scores before leaving early in the fourth quarter with his team up by 25. Don't think for one minute that Rodgers plans to miss any time.
The Packers (7-6) won their third straight game to keep their playoff hopes alive.
"That's football. You deal with injuries, you know . I'd like to talk about the win, you're talking about my injuries," Rodgers told reporters. "I'm not missing games, so ... we've won three in a row."
The Packers are two games back of first-place Detroit in the NFC North, but play division opponents in the last three weeks of the season.
Rodgers, who is already playing with a sore left hamstring, finished 18 of 23. He was sacked just once, an impressive accomplishment for a Packers offensive line against a formidable defense for Seattle (8-4-1).
"Aaron's a great player. Frankly, he spoils us all," coach Mike McCarthy said.
Green Bay gained 330 yards in Seattle's first game without former All-Pro safety Earl Thomas, who is out for the season with a broken leg.
The Packers' defense flustered Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson, who threw a career-high five interceptions.
"Obviously, we can't turn the ball over and I put that on me. That game was on me," Wilson said.
He finished 22 of 39 for 240 yards and a touchdown. Two interceptions came off passes that deflected off receivers' hands, including one that caromed off Doug Baldwin's helmet to cornerback Damarious Randall.
It was a stunning turn for Seattle a week after blowing out Carolina 40-7. The Seahawks missed out on a chance to clinch the NFC West following Arizona's loss to Miami earlier Sunday.
"This is such a rare occurrence for our team," Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. "It's just something at this time we have to push behind us and get going."
DEFENSE RESTS
Most of the focus about defense going into the game was about Seattle's league-best unit, but the Seahawks gave up a season high points.
The Packers dominated, mixing in a few blitzes and getting effective pressure on Wilson most of the game against a shaky offensive line. It was an impressive showing without starting linebackers Nick Perry (hand) and Blake Martinez (knee). Outside linebacker Clay Matthews (shoulder) was limited mainly to passing downs.
OUT IN FRONT
Green Bay had a 21-3 lead at halftime, reminiscent of the way the Packers built big leads on opponents in recent dominant seasons. They've scored first each time in their three-game win streak.
"Obviously it makes a difference. It means we're being successful, we're scoring points," receiver Jordy Nelson said. "We saw what happens when our defense can play with a lead."
The Packers look nothing like the team that suffered back-to-back blowout losses at Tennessee and Washington a few weeks ago.
WRIGHT WRONG
Seattle linebacker K.J. Wright slipped on consecutive plays in the second quarter, and the Packers took advantage each time. He was covering Ty Montgomery in the flat on a pass that turned into a 24-yard gain to the Seattle 9. He slipped again on the next play trailing Nelson across the end zone, leaving the receiver open for a touchdown pass and a 21-3 lead with 5:15 left in the first half.
"We had the right cleats on, it was just terrible," defensive lineman Cliff Avril said about the footing. He said it got worse as the game progressed.
The field was covered by a tarp until about 90 minutes before the game. By that time, the snow had mainly subsided in Green Bay.
RECORD
Rodgers threw two touchdown passes to Nelson. They have connected on 57 TD passes overall, tying Hall of Famer Brett Favre and Antonio Freeman for the most touchdown passes from a quarterback to a receiver in franchise history.
INJURY REPORT
TE Jared Cook left the game with a chest injury following an incompletion deep down the left sideline with 1:55 left in the second quarter.
UP NEXT
Seahawks: Have a quick turnaround with a Thursday night home game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Packers: Begin their season-ending stretch of three straight NFC North games with a trip to Chicago on Dec. 18 to play the Bears.
___
For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL .
(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
