Aaron Rodgers passed for 283 yards and three touchdowns, and the Green Bay Packers remained unbeaten with a 37-30 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday night.
With the Packers’ top receiver Davante Adams unable to play because of a hamstring injury, Rodgers nonetheless found ways to attack New Orleans (1-2) with a variety of passes, short and long.
Allen Lazard caught six passes for 146 yards for Green Bay (3-0), including gains of 48 and 72 yards on throws deep downfield that each set up touchdowns. Rodgers’ scoring passes went for five yards to Lazard, 18 yards to tight end Marcedes Lewis and one yard to tight end Robert Tonyan. Lazard’s longest catch set up Aaron Jones’ one-yard TD run.
The decisive drive got going when Rodgers hit tight end Jace Sternberger for a 23-yard gain and later drew a pass interference calls in the end zone on a third-down play, which set up the Tonyan TD with two minutes left.
Saints running back Alvin Kamara built on a sensational start to the season, gaining 197 yards from scrimmage and scoring twice on short passes from Brees, with shifty, tackle-slipping runs after the catch.
His scoring plays included a 52-yarder in which he took a pass near the line of scrimmage and broke four tackles, including one that forced him to balance along the sideline before he cut back inside for the final yards. That play, which tied the score at 27, might have wound a typical Superdome crowd into a wild, stadium-vibrating frenzy. But the stands were virtually empty, with the exception of fewer than 1,000 Saints player and staff guests.
