About the only positive for the record 73,738 fans at Lambeau Field to see the Green Bay Packers preseason opener, a 17-0 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, came on the team’s first possession.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers looked crisp on his only drive of the night, going three for five for 62 yards that included a 50-yard toss to wide receiver James Jones.
The drive faltered near the goal line, though. Rodgers passed incomplete to James Jones and Jermichael Finley on back-to-back plays from the Arizona 2-yard line. On fourth and 2, running back James Starks rushed up the middle but was called short of the end zone.
Packers coach Mike McCarthy challenged the call, saying the ball broke the plane of the end zone, but the call on the field was upheld to keep the Packers scoreless.
Starks took the majority of the first-team repetitions at running back, getting 38 yards on 12 attempts.
The Packers offense was stifled for the rest of the game with backup quarterbacks Graham Harrell, Vince Young and B.J. Coleman all failing to engineer any scoring drives.
The Packers turned the ball over twice, both by Harrell, who threw an interception to end one drive and was strip-sacked by Cardinals linebacker John Abraham on another. Sam Acho got the fumble recovery.
Harrell, who played almost two full quarters, finished 12 of 19 passing for 76 yards and an interception. Newly signed Vince Young came in midway through the third quarter and went one for three for seven yards. He also scrambled twice, once for a first down, for 12 yards.
B.J. Coleman played the final two drives for the Packers, completing two of his seven passes for 15 yards.
Receiver Tyrone Walker was the favorite target of the night, catching five passes for 41 yards.
Eight of the Packers drives ended with punts by Tim Masthay, who landed two inside the 20 and averaged 41.3 yards per punt.
The other bad news for the Packers was that first-round draft choice Datone Jones sprained his ankle, adding to the 17 players who missed the game with injuries.
The Cardinals opened the scoring in the first quarter on the first play following Harrell’s interception.
Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer found Andre Roberts in the end zone for a 38-yard touchdown.
Backup quarterback Drew Stanton extended Arizona’s lead to 14-0 with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Jaron Brown in the second quarter.
The Packers defense allowed 270 yards through the air, including pass plays of 38, 36 and 28 yards. The Packers held the Cardinals running backs in check, limiting the group to 92 yards on 35 carries.
Robert Francois provided about the only highlight on defense, sacking Stanton for a seven-yard loss in the third quarter.
Both Cardinal kickers Jay Feely and Will Baston missed field goal attempts, but Feely knocked in a 21-yard attempt in the fourth quarter to give Arizona a 17-0 lead.
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