PACK’ IN THE SADDLE
Rodgers, Green Bay break through with 6 TDs & NFC North lead
AARON Rodgers and f irst-year coach Matt LaFleur definitely appear to be on the same page, which could spell trouble for the rest of the NFC.
Rodgers finished with the f irst perfect singlegame passer rating of his career, throwing for five touchdowns and running for another as the Packers improved to 6-1 with a 42-24 rout of the Raiders at Lambeau Field.
Even without top receiving target Davante Adams (toe) for a third straight game, Rodgers completed 25 of 31 passes for 429 yards, putting up the most points Green Bay’s offense has managed under LaFleur after Mike McCarthy was canned 12 games (4-7-1) into 2018.
“I think this was the most complete I’ve played [this season],” Rodgers said. “I feel like this has been coming, I really do.”
Rodgers mostly had leaned on a running game led by Aaron Jones and a bigplay defense through Green Bay’s first six games, throwing for just eight touchdowns. But he connected on TD passes to Jones, Jamaal Williams and Jake Kumerow for a 21-10 lead at halftime. He also scrambled for a 3-yard score and flipped a 3-yard toss to Jimmy Graham in the third quarter and a 74-yard pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling in the fourth for his first game of five touchdown passes since 2015.
Green Bay sits atop the NFC North, with divisional wins already over Chicago, Minnesota and Detroit.
“That’s how I want it to look,” LaFleur said Sunday about his offense. “This is the National Football League. It’s not going to be like that every week, but our guys … I thought they were locked in.
“I think we’re starting to learn our players a little bit better, what they do really well. I think the communication’s been on point between coaches and players. Today it came together.”
THE ’BOYS ARE BACK
The D definitely showed up to play Sunday night in Big D.
The Cowboys defense forced four turnovers and held Carson Wentz and the Eagles to 283 total yards in a 37-10 rout to halt their three-game losing streak and retake sole possession of the NFC East (4-3).
Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 111 yards and a touchdown, while Dak Prescott ran for one and passed for another for the Cowboys, who became the first team this season to lose to the Jets last Sunday.
Dallas kicker Brett Maher also nailed a 63-yard field goal at the end of the first half, becoming the first in NFL history with three field goals of 60 or more yards. He also drilled a 62-yarder last week against the Jets.
THE BEAR MINIMUM
The Bears couldn’t win with their starting quarterback back in the lineup against a team that hasn’t lost since its starter was injured.
The Saints held Mitch Trubisky and Chicago’s offense under 200 total yards until the final minutes (252 total), winning their fifth straight game since Teddy Bridgewater replaced Drew Brees (thumb) in a convincing 36-25 victory.
New Orleans (6-1) also was without running back Alvin Kamara (ankle/knee) and tight end
Jared Cook (ankle), but Latavius Murray ran for 113 yards and two touchdowns. Bridgewater was 23-for-38 for 281 yards and two touchdowns, including nine receptions for 131 yards by Michael Thomas, to improve to 5-0 as the Saints’ starter.
Trubisky, who suffered a shoulder injury in Week 4, led the Bears (3-3) to two touchdowns in the final 2:36 after the Saints had built a 36-10 lead.
KIRK’S STARSHIP ENTERPRISE
Kirk Cousins and the Vikings also are on an offensive roll. Cousins threw for four touchdown passes without an interception to keep Minnesota one game behind Green Bay in the division race with a 42-30 shootout win in Detroit, their third straight victory after a 2-2 start.
“I thought Kirk had a heck of a ballgame, made some big throws. He’s playing very free right now,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. “He’s playing very well. He’s playing the best I’ve seen him play since he’s been here, obviously. It’s a credit to him and the offensive coaches and I feel like we’re playing to his strength.”
Cousins’ first touchdown strike was a 25-yarder in the first quarter in the back of the end zone to toptarget Adam Thielen, who suffered an injured hamstring on the play and did not return to the game.
“I thought our offense did a phenomenal job of being balanced all game long, moving the football a variety of ways,” Cousins said. “I think it’s a credit to other players. … When you can run the football well, it also takes the pressure off that loss [of Thielen].”