Rodgers, Tonyan lead Packers to victory over Falcons
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Aaron Rodgers connected with tight end Robert Tonyan on three of his four touchdown passes and the Green Bay Packers remained unbeaten with a 30-16 victory over the winless Atlanta Falcons on Monday night.
The Packers (4-0) opened a season by scoring at least 30 points in four straight games for the first time in franchise history. Todd Gurley’s two touchdown runs couldn’t stop the Falcons from their first 0-4 start since 1999, when they followed a Super Bowl season by going 5-11.
Green Bay was missing its top two receivers. Davante Adams sat out a second straight game with a hamstring injury and Allen Lazard had gone on injured reserve with a core problem.
Yet that didn’t slow down Rodgers, who capitalized on Atlanta’s depleted secondary and helped Tonyan deliver the most productive performance of his young career.
Tonyan had touchdown receptions of 19 and 8 yards to cap the Packers’ final two first-half possessions. He added a 21-yard touchdown reception midway through the third quarter.
The 2017 undrafted free agent from Indiana State finished the night with six catches for 98 yards along with his three touchdowns to set career highs in all three categories. Tonyan, who entered this season with two career touchdowns, has reached the end zone five times over his last three games.
Rodgers went 27 of 33 for 327 yards. He has thrown 13 touchdown passes without an interception this season.
After blowing two-touchdown leads in the fourth quarter each of the last two weeks, the Falcons (0-4) never were ahead in this one. Green Bay took the lead for good when Rodgers threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Aaron Jones on the game’s opening series.
Atlanta already was playing without safeties Ricardo Allen (elbow) and Keanu Neal (hamstring) as well as cornerback A.J. Terrell (COVID-19 reserve). That beleaguered secondary took more hits when safety Damontae Kazee got carted off the field and safety Jaylinn Hawkins left with a concussion in the second quarter.