SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 19, 2014
Packers 38, Panthers 17: Aaron Rodgers continued his MVP-caliber campaign by recording as many touchdown passes as incompletions in a crisp victory for host Green Bay.
Rodgers sat out the final 9 1/2 minutes after going 19-of-22 for 255 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 154.5. Randall Cobb caught one of those scoring strikes and finished with a season-high 121 yards on six receptions for the Packers (5-2), who have won four straight games.
The Panthers (3-3-1) did not score a touchdown until the fourth quarter and were not helped by nine penalties for 70 yards. Cam Newton finished 17-of-31 for 205 yards with a TD and an interception for Carolina, which fell to 1-3-1 in its last five games.
Green Bay scored a touchdown on each of its first three possessions - first a 59-yard catch-and-run by Jordy Nelson and then scoring runs from Eddie Lacy (5 yards) and James Starks (13 yards). Rodgers' short scoring strike to Cobb made it 28-0 late in the second quarter before Carolina finally got on the board with a field goal at the first-half buzzer.
Rodgers' 21-yard pass to Davante Adams made it 35-3 early in the third quarter and the Packers cruised from there to their 16th win in their last 17 October games. The Panthers made the final score a bit more respectable with fourth-quarter TD passes from Newton to Kelvin Benjamin and from backup quarterback Derek Anderson to Brenton Bersin.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Rodgers, who has 18 touchdown passes and one interception this season, joined Tom Brady (2007) as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to record a passer rating of 150-plus twice in the the first seven games of a seson. ... Lacy contributed 63 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries while Starks chipped in 36 yards and a score on seven attempts. ... Panthers TE Greg Olsen tied his season high with eight catches and set a personal best for 2014 with 105 receiving yards.