Green Bay, WI (Sports Network) - The regular referees are back, right?
Less than a week after being robbed by the replacement refs in 14-12 loss at
Seattle, the Green Bay Packers endured another sloppy finish and held on for a
28-27 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday at Lambeau Field.
Aaron Rodgers threw four touchdown passes for the Packers (2-2), including a
go-ahead, 11-yard strike to Jordy Nelson with seven minutes remaining.
After Nelson's grab, Darren Sproles fumbled the ensuing kickoff, but was ruled
down by contact. Out of challenges, the Packers were forced to accept the
botched call, and the Saints took advantage with a march to the Green Bay 25.
There, Garrett Hartley drilled a 43-yard field goal, but this time the newly
reinstated officials got it right with a holding call on David Thomas, which
negated the kick.
After an encroachment call, Hartley pulled his 48-yard attempt wide left and
the Packers took over with 2:49 left. They were able to run out the clock and
secure the win courtesy of a tough catch by James Jones on 3rd-and-3.
Rodgers finished with 319 yards and an interception on 31-of-41 passing, while
Cedric Benson ran for 84 yards on 18 carries. Nelson caught eight passes for
93 yards, Jones added a pair of touchdown grabs and Greg Jennings scored in
the second quarter before departing with a groin injury.
Drew Brees completed 35-of-54 passes for 446 yards and three touchdowns
without and interception for the Saints (0-4), who have dropped four straight
to begin a season for the first time since 2007.
With a 20-yard, first-quarter scoring pass to Marques Colston, Brees tied
Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas for consecutive games with a touchdown pass (47).
The Sports Network