Julius Peppers
Minnesota decided not to risk playing Teddy Bridgewater on the slipper turf at Lambeau Field and his replacement, Christian Ponder, had no chance against the Packers. Green Bay scored the games first 42 points and went on to beat Minnesota 42-10 before 78,054 at Lambeau Field.
The Packers got their running game going, rushing for 156 yards (5.6 ypc) as a team. Eddie Lacy had 13 carries for 105 yards (8.1 ypc) and two touchdowns.
Mike McCarthy improved to 13-4-1 against the Vikings and the Green Bay Packers moved to 8-1-1 against Minnesota since 2010.
After punting on their first possession, Mike McCarthy decided to give the ball to Eddie Lacy. Lacy had gains of 18, 29 and 6 yards on three straight carries. It set up Randall Cobb’s 8-yard touchdown reception, his 6th touchdown grab of the season.
The NFL’s leading receiver, Jordy Nelson caught just one pass on the night. it came in the first quarter on a 66-yard pass from Aaron Rodgers. That made it 14-0 Packers and the rout was on.
Green Bay took a 21-0 lead when Luther Robinson, who was activated from the practice squad earlier in the day, got a good rush on Ponder and forced a short throw which was picked off by Julius Peppers. Peppers raced 49 yards for a touchdown, setting an NFL record by becoming the first player in league history to have at least 10 interceptions and 100 quarterback sacks.
Jamari Lattimore then took his turn by intercepting Ponder and Aaron Rodgers found rookie Davante Adams on a 11-yard slant play for a touchdown. It was the first NFL touchdown for Adams and the 200th of Rodgers career. The 200 TD passes came in 99 games, which is the second fastest in NFL history. Only Dan Marino took fewer games, reaching the milestone in 89 games.
AUDIO: Davante Adams on his first NFL touchdown reception :18
The Packers took a 28-0 lead into the lockerroom at halftime and cruised to the victory.
The Packers improved to 3-2 and get some time off now. The players are off today through Sunday while the coaches get the weekend off.
AUDIO: Mike McCarthy called it a good team win :19
AUDIO: Eddie Lacy says he ran aggressive :14
The Packers won’t play again until a week from Sunday at Miami against the Dolphins.