Aaron Jones
Aaron Jones had a big day, helping the Green Bay Packers roll to a 42-21 win over the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field on Sunday.
Jones rushed for a career-high 168 yards and scored three touchdowns, including a 75-yard TD run to start the second half. He also had a team-high 68 receiving yards on four catches, combining for 236 all-purpose yards in the win.
The Packers (2-0) won their eighth straight home opener and improved to 8-0 against the NFC North under coach Matt LaFleur’s tenure in Green Bay.
Aaron Rodgers completed 18 of 30 for 240 yards and two touchdowns and the Packers have now put up 85 points in the first two weeks of the season. The Packers are just the eighth team in the Super bowl era to score at lest 40 points in each of their first two games. The last two teams to pull that off, New Orleans in 2009 and Denver in 2013, went on to reach the Super Bowl.
The Packers trailed 14-3 early but rebounded to take a 17-14 lead into the locker room at halftime when Aaron Rodgers hit tight end Robert Tonyan with a 11-yard touchdown pass with 14 seconds left in the half. Green Bay also scored coming out of the locker room to start the second half as Jones hit the Lions with a 75-yard TD run on the first play from scrimmage.
Jones’ 75-yard scamper was the longest touchdown run by a Packer since Ahman Green ran for a 90-yard score against Dallas back in 2004.
The Packers increased their lead to 31-14 later in the third quarter when Rashan Gary pressured Matthew Stafford into a bad throw and was picked off by Chandon Sullivan who went seven yards for the touchdown.
The two early touchdowns allowed by the Packers extended a string of five straight touchdown drives by the opposition, extending back to last week’s game against Minnesota. The Vikings had scored three straight touchdowns to close out the week one contest before the Lions got touchdowns from Kerryon Johnson and Marvin Jones.
The Packers played without defensive tackle Kenny Clark (groin). They had three players, Davante Adams (hamstring), Corey Linsley (hand) and Tyler Ervin (concussion) leave the game with injuries.
Next up for the Packers, a Sunday night matchup with the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans.