Packers, Rodgers dismantle Chiefs with 5 TD passes
Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy is running out of superlatives to describe Aaron Rodgers.
His MVP quarterback dissects defenses in painstakingly methodical fashion each week.
Rodgers threw for 333 yards and five touchdowns, including three to Randall Cobb, and host Green Bay beat the Kansas City Chiefs 38-28 on Monday night.
Rodgers led the Packers (3-0) on two first-quarter drives that ended with scoring passes to Cobb and rookie Ty Montgomery from Stanford. Rodgers found James Jones of San Jose State for a 27-yard TD reception late in the second quarter for a 24-7 halftime lead.
“Aaron is a phenomenal player ... and playing great football,” McCarthy said. “I’ll just keep saying it.”
Green Bay built a 38-14 lead early in the fourth quarter before a late rush by Jamaal Charles and the Chiefs.
Charles ran for three touchdowns for Kansas City (1-2), which followed its stunning, last-minute loss at home to Denver with a respectable fourth-quarter effort at raucous Lambeau Field.
Charles’ 7-yard TD with 1:25 left cut Kansas City’s deficit to 10, but it got no closer.
“Green Bay did a nice job,” said a curt Andy Reid, Kansas City’s head coach.
Another masterful performance by Rodgers made for a rough night for Reid’s defense.
Rodgers, who finished 24for-35, again burned a secondary on free-play situations following defensive penalties. The longest play came on a 52-yard catch in the fourth quarter by Jones following an offside penalty, setting up Cobb’s third touchdown catch.
“His ability to really process information is as good as I’ve ever been around,” McCarthy said about Rodgers, the Cal alum.
The offense’s ability to build big leads feeds into the Packers’ philosophy of making the opposing offense one-sided. It helps when the Packers can stop the running game, too.
Kansas City stopped its long streak of no touchdown receptions by a receiver when Jeremy Maclin hauled in a 5-yard TD pass with 56 seconds left in the third quarter to cut the Packers’ lead to 31-14.
It was the first touchdown pass caught by a receiver since Donnie Avery had a 79-yard reception against the Indianapolis Colts in a wild-card game Jan. 4, 2014.
Ref denies remark: The NFL vice president of officiating says that referee Ed Hochuli insists he didn’t tell Carolina quarterback Cam Newton that he “wasn’t old enough” to get a personal-foul call during Sunday’s game against the Saints.
“Ed was adamant that he did not say that,” Dean Blandino told NFL Network. “He told me that he said (to Newton) that ‘the difference is you were running.’ I think when you look at the tape, it does look like Ed did say (the difference is you were running). I think that’s where we are right now and we’re just going to kind of move on from there.”
Newton called out the referee after the Panthers’ 27-22 win after he thought a personal foul should have been called on New Orleans defensive tackle Tyeler Davison for hitting him out of bounds after a pass. Panthers trade for Allen: Carolina has acquired veteran defensive end Jared Allen from the Chicago Bears in exchange for a 2016 sixth-round pick.
The Panthers made the move after top pass rusher Charles Johnson went down with a hamstring injury in the win over the Saints. He has been ruled out for Sunday’s game at Tampa Bay.
Briefly: Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin said quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will miss “a number of weeks” after spraining the MCL in his left knee in Sunday’s win in St. Louis. ... Jets right guard Willie Colon will be sidelined at least one game with a sprained knee. ... Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that the Eagles will move kicker Cody Parkey to season-ending injured reserve and sign kicker Caleb Sturgis. ... Buffalo receiver Sammy Watkins is uncertain for Sunday against the Dolphins because of a calf injury.