Packers vs. Rams; Week 5 NFL Recap

GREEN BAY, WIS. – The Green Bay Packers defeated the St. Louis Rams 24-10 Sunday afternoon to advance to 5-0 despite three uncharacteristic turnovers from Aaron Rodgers. Green Bay, along with New England, Atlanta, Carolina, Cincinnati and Denver remain undefeated in the NFL after week five.

A big challenge the Packers faced coming in this week was the Rams speed on both sides of the ball and most importantly their young, talented front seven on defense. The Rams defense got to Aaron Rodgers and the run game, but Green Bay’s defense held the key to the game only giving up 10 points and intercepting quarterback Nick Foles four times.

After a Rams three and out to start the game, Aaron Rodgers and the Packer’s offense quickly scored on a third down 31 yard touchdown pass to receiver Ty Montgomery. The next Packers drive would be one of infamy as Rodgers threw an interception off of a tip to linebacker James Laurinaitis, which would mark Rodgers’ first interception at Lambeau since 2012.

Foles wouldn’t have better success in the first quarter as he was intercepted the first time by cornerback Micah Hyde and a second time by rookie cornerback Quinten Rollins who returned it 45 yards for a touchdown. The Packers ended the first with a 14-0 lead.

Rookie running back Todd Gurley got things going for St. Louis in the second as he was a big part in getting the Rams into the red zone along with a pass interference penalty on safety Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix. Foles would cap off the drive with a five-yard touchdown pass to receiver Tavon Austin.

On the ensuing drive, Rodgers threw his second interception of the game to cornerback Trumaine Johnson after he dove in front of James Jones. The Rams drove the ball into Packers territory but had to settle for a 42 yard Greg Zuerlein field goal. The Packers had a 14-10 lead going into halftime.

Green Bay would start out the second half just like the first when Rodgers found James Jones for a 65-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 11.

After matching defensive stands by both teams the Rams converted a fake punt to keep the drive alive, but the Packer’s defense forced them to settle on another field goal which Zuerlein missed from 50 yards.

On the next Packer’s possession Rodgers would turn the ball over for the third time of the afternoon when defensive lineman Robert Quinn got a sack-strip, but again the Rams could not capitalize after another missed field goal by Zuerlein. The Packers maintained an 11 point lead at the end of the third quarter.

On the ensuing drive tight-end Richard Rodgers had a pair of gaffes, first dropping a wide open pass for a potential big gain and committing a penalty on a Mason Crosby field goal attempt which forced the Packers out of field goal range, resulting into a punt.

The Rams’ first drive of the fourth saw Todd Gurley go off as he broke for a 55-yard run and the Rams got into the red zone. The Packer’s defense would prevail again as Clinton-Dix intercepted Foles in the end zone.

After a three and out by Green Bay, St. Louis drove the ball for Zuerlein to attempt a 63-yard field goal but he again missed, which was followed by the Packers driving in position for a 35 yard Crosby field goal in which he made to take a 24-10 lead for Green Bay.

After a last minute drive attempt by the Rams, Foles threw his fourth interception to Rollins, his second of the game to seal the game.

The defensive pass rush was substantial for the Packers victory as they were all over Nick Foles, knocking him down eight times, and forcing four interceptions.

Even with what many consider an off game Aaron Rodgers still threw for 241 yards and two touchdowns.

Next, the Packers stay in Green Bay to play the San Diego Chargers. The Rams will have the week off.

Other scores from around the NFL:

Veteran reserve quarterback Matt Hasselbeck threw for 213 yards and two scores to receiver Andre Johnson to help the Indianapolis Colts defeat the Houston Texans (Johnson’s old team), 27-20.  Texans’ receiver DeAndre Hopkins had 11 catches for 169 yards.

Kicker Mike Nugent made a 42-yard field goal in overtime after quarterback Andy Dalton led the Cincinnati Bengals on a crucial drive to defeat the Seattle Seahawks, 27-24.  Dalton finished with 331 yards passing and three scores (two passing, one rushing).  Undrafted rookie running back Thomas Rawls rushed for 169 yards and one touchdown for the Seahawks.

Chicago Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler passed for 252 yards and two scores, including a late red-zone toss to running back Matt Forte to edge the Kansas City Chiefs, 18-17.  Even worse for the Chiefs, star running back Jamaal Charles was lost for the season with a torn ACL.

A defensive touchdown in overtime was the decider in the tilt between the Atlanta Falcons and the Washington Redskins, as Falcons’ cornerback Robert Alford returned an interception 54 yards for the winning score.  Atlanta running back Devonta Freeman rushed for 153 yards and one touchdown.  Quarterback Kirk Cousins threw for 219 yards and one touchdown for the Redskins.

Veteran quarterback Josh McCown threw for a career-high 457 yards and scored three times (two passing, one rushing), and kicker Travis Coons made a 33-yard field goal in overtime to lift the Cleveland Browns to a 33-30 victory over the Baltimore Ravens.  Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco had three touchdowns of his own (one passing, two rushing).

The Philadelphia Eagles cruised to a 39-17 victory over the New Orleans Saints, thanks to 333 passing yards and two touchdown tosses from quarterback Sam Bradford and touchdown runs by running backs DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews.

The Denver Broncos did not need an offensive touchdown to beat the Oakland Raiders, as kicker Brandon McManus nailed three field goals and cornerback Chris Harris Jr. returned an interception for a touchdown en route to a 16-10 win.

Quarterback Tom Brady accounted for three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) and kicker Stephen Gostkowski hit three field goals to lead the New England Patriots passed the injury-ravaged Dallas Cowboys, 30-6.

Late-game heroics helped the New York Giants sneak past the San Francisco 49ers, 30-27, as quarterback Eli Manning found tight end Larry Donnell, who made a difficult catch in the back of the end zone with 21 seconds remaining for the go-ahead score.  Manning threw for 441 yards and three scores.

Home certainly has not been where the heart is for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers recently, but that changed vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars, as the Bucs were able to snap an 11-game home losing streak with a 38-31 victory.  Tampa Bay running back Doug Martin rushed for 123 yards and two scores, and caught a touchdown pass as well.  Quarterback Blake Bortles threw for 303 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Jaguars.

Offense certainly was at a premium in the game between the Buffalo Bills and the Tennessee Titans, but the former seemed to find a bit of a groove in the second half.  Bills’ quarterback Tyrod Taylor ran for a touchdown and threw the game-winning score in the fourth quarter to help Buffalo storm back from a 10-0 third-quarter deficit and win, 14-13.

The Detroit Lions could not have asked for a more bleak start to the season, as they were crushed by the Arizona Cardinals, 42-17.  Quarterback Matthew Stafford was benched in favor of Dan Orlovsky in the third quarter.  Meanwhile, Cardinals’ quarterback Carson Palmer only threw for 161 yards, but three touchdowns.

A gutsy late-game call by Pittsburgh Steelers’ coach Mike Tomlin allowed them to go on the road and beat the San Diego Chargers on Monday night, 24-20.  With :05 left on the game clock and the ball on the Chargers’ half-yard line, the Steelers elected to keep the offense on the field rather than try and kick the game-tying chip shot field goal.  Running back Le’Veon Bell, who finished with 111 rushing yards, lined up in the wildcat formation and used a gritty second effort to stretch the ball over the goal line to win.  San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers threw for 365 yards and two scores in a losing effort.

All stats and scores courtesy of CBSSports.com.