The Green Bay Packers survive a late comeback to win 30-16 thanks to Aaron Jones’ 77-yard touchdown run with 2:51 left in the game. Jones finished the game with 130 yards from 15 carries.
Davante Adams had a big game catching 10 passes for 121 yards and two TD’s. Robert Tonyan also found the end zone.
Aaron Rodgers finished with three TD’s and 295 yards from 25 of 34 passing.
Jalen Hurts entered the game at quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles midway through the third quarter and brought the Eagles to within seven points of the Packers after the Eagles were losing by 20.
Unstoppable Rodgers
The Eagles took the lead after an eight-minute drive led to a Jake Elliott 52-yard field goal. This was the first time the Eagles had led in their past four games.
Both teams exchanged punts though the Eagles could have potentially extended their lead to six if not for Kingsley Keke’s sack on Carson Wentz to take Philadelphia out of field goal range.
In a drive lasting just over half a quarter and starting from the Packers’ 12-yard line, Green Bay finished with an Adams TD. After almost scoring a TD a couple of plays before, Rodgers went back to Adams on fourth and goal who caught the ball to the left for his seventh consecutive game with a TD. The Packers went up 7-3.
After the Eagles punted the Packers scored another TD to go into the break with a 14-3 lead. Starting from the Packers’ 19-yard line this drive was a lot more explosive than the last with the highlight being a 36-yard pass to Marcedes Lewis, prior to Robert Tonyan’s 25-yard TD catch down the right.
Rodgers with 93 percent completed passes (13 of 14) for the half set his best first half completion rate of his career. This would not be the only bit of history he set.
After both teams exchanged punts to begin the second half the Packers started their next drive on the one-yard line going all the way for a TD. Rodgers found Adams on the first play as he threw from deep inside his own endzone to find Adams deep down the right for a 42-yard catch.
A couple of plays later on third-and-three it was Allen Lazard’s turn for a big play catching deep to the right to put the Packers in the red zone, before a couple of Jones runs put the Packers on the nine-yard line.
Rodgers threw a screen pass to Adams and he did the rest, running in for a nine-yard TD to give the Packers a 20-3 lead after Mason Crosby missed the extra point. This was Rodgers’ 400th NFL touchdown pass becoming just the seventh player in history to reach that mark. With this achieved in his 193rd game he also became the fastest to ever reach 400 TD’s.
Enter Hurts
With the Packers holding a commanding lead, Hurts replaced Wentz. With Head Coach Doug Pederson open to putting Hurts in for a few plays here and there this was no surprise. The initial expectation was this would be for a few plays. However, Wentz never reappeared and finished his day with six for 15 passing and 79 yards.
Hurts produced a spark from the off, converting on third down with a 34-yard pass to Jalen Reagor. Philadelphia looked instantly more explosive though this drive also ended with a punt.
Crosby kicked a 40-yard FG in the next drive to increase the lead to 23-3 early in the fourth quarter, before Hurts returned to quickly decrease the lead with his first career TD pass.
Two plays in a row Hurts scrambled for first downs. A few plays later he connected with Zach Ertz on a 20-yard pass to take the Eagles to the Packers 24-yard line.
A few plays later and facing fourth-and-18 after an offensive pass interference call on Alshon Jeffery, Hurts passed deep to the right to find Greg Ward for the 32-yard TD pass to cut the lead to 23-10.
After a three-and-out, J.K. Scott punted to Reagor who initially muffed the punt but recovered in the best way possible going 73 yards up the field for the punt return TD with 6:48 left in the game. With Elliott also missing an extra point, the Eagles were now behind by only seven in a game that looked out of reach just 82 seconds before.
The Packers were back on the ball but quickly surrendered another three-and-out, giving Hurts an opportunity to potentially tie the game with another TD drive.
However, the fairy tale ending wasn’t to be as Za’Darius and Preston Smith shared a sack before an incompletion forced the Eagles to punt. Just two plays later Jones put the game beyond reach with an explosive 77-yard TD run, before Darnell Savage put the icing on the cake with a diving interception of Hurts’ pass intended for Ward.
Hurts finished 5 for 12, passing for 109 yards and a TD, while also rushing for 29 yards from five carries.
Pederson was non-committal on whether Hurts would be his QB moving forward, telling NBC Philadelphia:
“There’s a lot of things I’m going to consider and evaluate before anything is decided”.
With Pederson on the coaching hot seat, he also asserted that the decision was his, “if and when we make that change”.
Up next
The 9-3 Packers take on divisional rival, Detroit Lions (5-7) at Ford Field next Sunday at 4:25 ET.
The 3-8-1 Eagles play at home against NFC leader, the 10-2 New Orleans Saints also at 4:25 ET.