On a night quarterback Aaron Rodgers set another passing record and coach Mike McCarthy tied legendary coach Vince Lombardi for Packers wins, the Green Bay Packers held on to beat the Atlanta Falcons 43-37 after running up its typical first half lead on “Monday Night Football” at Lambeau Field.
After taking a 31-7 lead by halftime, the Packers’ steamrolling offense slowed. A determined Falcons team, led by receiver Julio Jones, tried to claw back into the game.
Jones caught 11 of quarterback Matt Ryan’s passes for a total of 259 yards, the most given up to a receiver in Packers’ history. Jones’ only score came in the fourth quarter, a 22-yard throw from Ryan that cut the Packers lead to 10, 34-24 with 12:33 left to play.
“Obviously Julio had a big night,” McCarthy said. “He was a focus for us all week as far as the way we game planned, but he won that contest.”
The Packers (10-3), held to just a 33-yard Mason Crosby field goal in the third quarter, were quick to answer. Rodgers found receiver Jordy Nelson over the deep middle for a 60-yard touchdown pass.
With the pass, Rodgers surpassed Dallas quarterback Tony Romo for most yards passing in first 100 games, finishing with 327 for the game and 27,520 in his career.
“When you’re a young player, you can only dream about these kind of opportunities, and then you get into it and you think, ‘I’d love to do 100 more.’”
Rodgers completed 24 passes on 36 attempts with three touchdowns and a 123.3 passer rating.
The Falcons (5-8), though, refused to go away, turning the game into a shootout. Ryan led a 71-yard drive capped by a 1-yard pass to Roddy White. Atlanta failed to convert the 2-point conversion.
After a failed onside kick attempt, the Packers expanded their lead to 43-30 with a 53-yard field goal by Crosby.
Atlanta drove 66 yards on the ensuing drive and scored on a 2-yard pass from Ryan to receiver Harry Douglas. After another failed onside kick, the Packers were able to salt the remaining 2:11 on some hard running by running back James Starks, including a 41-yard run that set the Packers up on the Atlanta 6-yard line with 1:37 left to play.
“It’s just a reminder that you’ve got to play four quarters,” Rodgers said. “We had 31 points the first half and then we had 12 in the second half.”
Starks finished with 10 carries for 75 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown run to kick off the scoring in the first quarter. Eddie Lacy had 13 carries for 73 yards and 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. He caught five passes for 33 yards, and scored on a 1-yard check down pass later in the second quarter.
Nelson finished with eight catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns, the 60-yarder in the fourth quarter and a 10-yarder in the second. Crosby had a 38-yard field goal in the second quarter, a 33-yarder in the third and missed an extra point attempt in the fourth quarter.
The Packers’ defense held Steven Jackson to 50 yards on 16 carries, but was carved up in the second half by the Falcons’ passing game. Ryan finished 24 of 39 for 375 yards and four touchdowns. He was picked off in the second quarter by safety Morgan Burnett.
“We were concerned about the win,” Packers defensive end Julius Peppers. “We’re not going to get too involved with stats and those type of things because certain circumstances dictate what other teams can do. So it was a game where they pretty much had to pass the ball and they passed the ball well.”
The win tied McCarthy with legendary coach Vince Lombardi for 98 wins, the second-most in Packers’ history.
“It’s an honor to coach here,” McCarthy said. “I think everybody clearly understands what Coach Lombardi means not only to the Green Bay Packers, to the National Football League, but really the impact he made on society during his time. I’m thrilled to be coaching here and to be able to win games.”
Also with the win, Rodgers finishes his first 100 games with a 63-32 record, the exact same record former quarterback Brett Favre, who was in Green Bay earlier in the day to support the Rawhide Boys Ranch, had after 100 games.
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