GREEN BAY, Wisconsin (AP) ― San Francisco’s defense smothered Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay offense for most of the game, then made one last stand to stop a late rally as the 49ers beat the Packers 30-22 on Sunday.
Randall Cobb gave the Packers a chance with a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown, and a 2-point conversion cut the lead to 8, at 23-15 in the fourth quarter. But Rodgers threw an interception to linebacker NaVorro Bowman, and Frank Gore ran for a 23-yard touchdown.
Rodgers then threw a touchdown to James Jones, but the 49ers held the Packers in the final minute.
Things went so well for the 49ers that when David Akers tried a 63-yard field goal at the end of the first half, it bounced off the crossbar and then kept going through the uprights to tie an NFL record.
Packers cornerback Charles Woodson (left) breaks up a pass intended for 49ers tight end Delanie Walker on Sunday. (AP-Yonhap News)
Somehow the Packers still had a chance to pull even. With the clock nearing the four-minute mark, a sack by Clay Matthews helped force a punt and the Packers took over at their own 16-yard line with 3:37 left and no timeouts.
Rodgers steadily marched the Packers down the field, but Ahmad Brooks sacked Rodgers. Facing fourth-and-10 near midfield, Rodgers threw deep toward Jordy Nelson but the pass fell incomplete.
Rodgers finished 30 of 44 for 303 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, but the 49ers held him in check until late the in the game. Jermichael Finley had a 1-yard touchdown for the Packers.
Meanwhile, the Packers’ defense didn’t look much better than last year’s porous unit. Smith was 20 of 26 for 211 yards and two touchdowns while Gore rushed for 112 yards.
RG3 dazzles for Redskins
NEW ORLEANS (AP) ― Robert Griffin III brought his Heisman Trophy swagger to New Orleans and made his NFL debut look like a Big Easy.
Showing a veteran’s composure by scrambling only when necessary, the dynamic Redskins rookie quarterback tormented New Orleans’ defense with 320 yards passing and two touchdowns, and Washington held on for 40-32 victory over the Saints on Sunday.
“I’ve won a high school state championship and a bowl game in college, but to play in the NFL, the pinnacle of it all, and win your first game against a Hall of Famer in Drew Brees, it’s at the top,” Griffin said while cradling the game ball he had just been given. “After the game, (Brees) told me he was proud of me. That’s big for him to say after he just lost the game.”
New Orleans hoped to open the season with a defiant show of force in the wake of the bounty scandal that overshadowed its offseason. The Saints also got a boost Friday when a three-member appeals panel reinstated defensive end Will Smith and linebacker Jon Vilma, who had been suspended for their roles in the Saints’ alleged pay-for-pain bounty program.
Smith started, while Vilma, deemed unfit to play after offseason knee surgery, received a rousing ovation when he walked onto the field to lead the Saints’ traditional pregame “Who-dat” chant.
Manning wins in debut
DENVER (AP) ― Peyton Manning made a successful NFL return from a year’s sabbatical, leading the Broncos past the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-19 in his Denver debut Sunday night.
The four-time MVP coming off four neck surgeries completed 19 of 26 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns.
He got a big assist from another free agent, cornerback Tracy Porter, whose 43-yard interception return of Ben Roethlisberger’s pass with 2 minutes left sealed the win.
Manning, jettisoned by the Indianapolis Colts in March after missing all of last season with a nerve injury that weakened his throwing arm, took just two snaps in the third quarter. But one was a 71-yard touchdown throw to Demaryius Thomas, Manning’s first as a Bronco and the 400th of his career.
Chicago 41, Indianapolis 21
Philadelphia 17, Cleveland 16
New England 34, Tennessee 13
Atlanta 40, Kansas City 24
Minnesota 26, Jacksonville 23
NY Jets 48, Buffalo 28
Detroit 27, St. Louis 23
Houston 30, Miami 10
Arizona 20, Seattle 16
Tampa Bay 16, Carolina 10
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
