It took longer than expected but the Green Bay Packers did the expected by rolling past the reeling New York Giants 31-13 at mushy MetLife Stadium Sunday.
There was rain, sleet and snow that covered the field as the Packers covered the spread by turning a pair of fourth quarter turnovers into touchdowns.
Aaron Rodgers got excellent protection and fired four touchdown passes. The first covered 8 yards over the middle to Davante Adams who was met at the goal line but extended the ball over the plane to cap a game opening 72 yard drive. Free agent Allen Lazard sparked the march by laying out for a 43 yard pass on the Pack's second snap.
New York answered as rookie Daniels Jones drove 71 yards in 11 plays, converting a 4th and 5 along the way. From the 18, Jones hit Sterling Shepard who beat Kevin King on a double move and he caught the touchdown pass sliding in the end zone snow.
It took Green Bay only five plays to grab the lead for good. Again it was Lazard who broke free down the middle and caught a wide open 37 yard touchdown strike.
King made amends for the TD by interception Jones early in the second quarter. The takeaway resulted in Mason Crosby's 47 yard field goal and a 10 point lead.
The Giants then embarked on an 18 play drive that consumed 9:31. This time, Jones converted two, fourth down plays. sneaking both times to move the chains. The Packer defense stiffened in the red zone but Aldrick Rosas connected on a 27 yard field goal that made it 17-10 at the half.
A 43 yard catch by Cody Latimer on New York's first series in the second half led to another Rosas field goal from 45 yards out and it was still a game at 17-13.
Rodgers moved the offense from his 25 to the New York one before they backed up. On first and goal from the one, Aaron Jones was dropped for a 3 yard loss. His 4 yard TD run around left end came off the board when Robert Tonyan was called for holding. A screen to Jones lost three more yards but on third and goal from the 17, Rodgers caught the Giants with 12 men on the field and scrambled to find Adams in the end one for a 24-13 advantage.
Matt LaFleur showed his aggressive side by going for it on 4th and 10 from the New York 35. Despite a strong rush and with Rodgers falling backward, he still found Geronimo Allison for a 15 yard grab that kept the drive alive.
Rookie Darnell Savage pulled in a badly overthrown Jones pass for an interception and he returned it 28 yards.
Rodgers finished his day by avoiding a sack and firing a pass to Mercedes Lewis who scored his first Packer touchdown from the one that put the game out of reach.
Tramon Williams swiped the third interception for the defense two plays later and a final 4th down pass from Jones went incomplete with 2 minutes remaining.
Rodgers finished 21 of 33 for 243 yards with 4 scores. He wasn't sacked and put up a passer rating of 125.4. Adams led with six catches for 64 yards and two scores but Lazard was the big play receiver. His first 100 yard day came on three catches for 103 yards and the touchdown. The running game never got much traction although Jamaal Williams ran hard in the fourth quarter, gaining 41 yards on 10 carries. Jones finished with just 18 yards on 11 rushes.
Saquon Barkley piled up 83 yards on 19 carries but Jones struggled, completing 20 of 37 for 240 yards with three picks against the one touchdown.
LaFleur joked it was Green Bay weather in New Jersey but also said after the game he figured it might take all four quarters:
(Audio: Matt LaFleur)
Mason Crosby was awarded the game ball in an emotional locker room. He made all five kicks but played with an extremely heavy heart. His sister in-law, Brittany Crosby passed away last Friday after a three year battle with ovarian cancer. Mason left Green Bay to be with his brother Rees when the tragic news broke the day after Thanksgiving. He then joined the team for the game and left right afterwards for Austin, Texas to be with his family.
Crosby's wife Molly had a cancer scare earlier this season and underwent surgery. In October, Mason lost his uncle after an illness.
Bryan Bulaga sprained his MCL last week in San Francisco and it didn't appear he'd be ready to play but Bulaga practiced last Thursday and went the distance on the offensive line which did an excellent job with protection.
Tremon Smith produced the longest punt return of the season for the Packers in the first quarter when he gained all of three yards and promptly fumbled the ball out of bounds. For the season, the Packers are now up to -8 yards on punt returns.
LaFleur has tied Mike Holmgren and Mike Sherman for the most wins by a rookie Head Coach with 9 and LaFleur still has four more games to go.
The inactives were Ryan Grant, Dexter Williams, Will Redmond, Tony Brown, Ka'Dar Hollman, Adam Pankey and Yosh Nijman.
Newly signed Jared Veldheer was on the field but not in uniform. The Packers still have a roster exemption for him since they signed him coming out of retirement last week.
The Packers went coast to coast the past two weeks but now return home for a pair of games at Lambeau, beginning with the Washington Redskins, a 29-21 winner over reeling Carolina for their third victory of the year. The Packers then finish out with three division rematches, hosting the Bears before traveling to Minnesota (likely for the NFC North title) and Detroit.
