Packers Hand Saints Second-Consecutive Defeat
The Green Bay Packers handed the New Orleans Saints a home defeat in an NFC contest on Sunday night at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, La.
Green Bay, behind three touchdown passes from Aaron Rodgers, handed New Orleans a 37-30 loss.
The defeat was the second-straight for the Saints, both of them in prime time, after a season-opening win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Green Bay got on the scoreboard first, on their first possession of the game, when Mason Crosby booted through a long 52-yard field goal, capping off a 1-play, 55-yard drive that took 5:38 off the clock, to give them a 3-0 lead at the 7:36 mark of the first quarter.
New Orleans scored their first points of the contest at the 5:15 mark of the initial period when Drew Brees connected with Alvin Kamara on an 11-yard touchdown pass, ending a 4-play, 77-yard drive that took 2:23 off of the clock, giving them a 7-3 lead.
The Packers drew closer at the 14:17 mark of the second quarter when Crosby made good on his second field of the night, this one from 33 yards away, completing a 12-play, 60-yard drive, to make it 7-6.
Green Bay took the lead at the 10:32 mark of the second frame when Rodgers hit Allen Lazard with a short 5-yard touchdown pass, to wrap-up a short 3-play, 50-yard drive, giving them a 13-7 advantage.
The Saints got to within three points at the 4:34 mark of the second quarter when Wil Lutz nailed a 45-yard field goal, putting the exclamation mark on an 11-play, 49-yard drive, to cut the Green Bay lead to 13-10.
New Orleans wrestled the lead away right before the end of the first half, with only :06 remaining, when Brees tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders, to make it 17-13, a lead they held as the two teams went into their respective locker rooms at halftime.
The Saints outgained the Packers, in terms of total yards in the first half, 195-140, including a 104-46 advantage in rushing yards, while Green Bay held a 94-91 edge in passing yards.
Individually, for New Orleans, Brees completed 14-of-17 passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, while Kamara compiled 107 total yards and a touchdown
For Green Bay, over the first 30 minutes, Rodgers completed 9-of-14 passes for 106 yards and a touchdown.
The Packers regained the lead on the initial possession of the second half when Aaron Jones capped off a 7-play, 75-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge, giving them a 20-17 advantage at the 12:58 mark of the third quarter.
The Saints tied things at the 5:59 mark of the third period when Lutz converted on his second field goal of the night, this one from 35 yards out, ending a 12-play, 58-yard drive, to even the contest, 20-20.
Green Bay came right back and scored on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Rodgers to Mercedes Lewis, completing a 6-play, 75-yard drive, to give them a 27-20 lead at the 2:17 mark of the third quarter.
New Orleans tied the game once again with only :33 remaining in the third quarter when Kamara scored on an electrifying 52-yard touchdown pass from Brees, the second score of the evening by the duo, wrapping-up a 3-play, 75-yard drive, to make it 27-27 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Packers regained the lead at the 8:52 mark of the final quarter when Crosby kicked through his third field goal of the contest, this one from 49 yards away, capping off a 4-play, 49-yard drive, giving them a 30-27 edge.
Green Bay put the game away with 2:00 to go when Rodgers threw his third touchdown of the night, this one to Robert Tonyan from one yard away, which extended their lead to 37-27.
The Saints stayed alive when Lutz kicked through a 34-yard field goal with only :32 left, which got them to within a touchdown, 37-30, but failed to recover the onside kick, as the Packers walked away with the 7-point triumph.
New Orleans actually outgained Green Bay, in terms of total yards, 397-369, including a 275-271 advantage in passing yards, as well as a 122-98 edge in rushing yards, but suffered a crucial turnover, which led to a Packers' touchdown and were hurt by penalties again this week, being flagged 8 times for 83 yards.
Leading the way for the Packers was Rodgers, who completed 21-of-32 passes for 283 yards and two touchdowns.
In a losing cause for the Saints, Brees completed 29-of-36 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns, while Kamara finished with 58 rushing yards, to go along with 139 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
With the victory, Green Bay stayed unbeaten on the season, moving to a perfect 3-0, while New Orleans fell to 1-2.
The Saints return to action on Sunday when they travel to Detroit to take on the Lions at noon.