GLENDALE, Ariz. - No quarterback in the NFL had a lower interception percentage than Aaron Rodgers in 2009, and he put his name in the team record book by posting his 12th game this season without an interception.
With no interceptions against the Cardinals, his fourth straight contest without one, Rodgers broke Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr's franchise mark of 11 games (min. 10 attempts) set in 1964. Rodgers finished the season with just seven interceptions on 541 attempts for a league-best 1.29 percentage, a mark that also ranks second in team history behind only Starr's percentage of 1.20 (three interceptions on 251 attempts) in 1966.
Rodgers also entered Sunday's game 260 yards shy of Lynn Dickey's single-season franchise mark of 4,458 passing yards in 1983, but left the game after Green Bay's one and only drive in the third quarter, a series that was capped off with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Rodgers to tight end Jermichael Finley to give the Packers a 33-0 lead.
Rodgers finished the afternoon 21-of-26 for 235 yards, 25 yards shy of the franchise record but good for the No. 2 spot in team annals with 4,434 yards for the season. Brett Favre's mark of 4,413 in 1995 had held the No. 2 spot.
"I can't say I wasn't aware of it," Rodgers said. "I knew I was short by the time I came out. I'll definitely take a repeat of this season and the way we played for the rest of my career. That would be great.
"We talked about it early in the week that we were going to play this one to win. As long as it was close I was going to be in there, and that's how I wanted it. But we got up 33-0, and at that time I think you've got to be smart."
The Packers finished the season with 6,065 total yards of offense, third in franchise history to the 2004 Packers team that posted 6,357 yards and the 1983 squad that registered 6,172 yards.
With the 33 points scored on Sunday afternoon, the Packers finished with 461 for the season, the most in franchise history, eclipsing the total of 456 posted by the 1996 Super Bowl champion Packers.
Green Bay also led the league in time-of-possession average at 33:03, the best mark in franchise history.
Best in the league
With three interceptions and one turnover on Sunday, the Packers finished with the top turnover ratio in the NFL at plus-24 for the season.
The offense did its part by turning the ball over a league-low 16 times (eight interceptions, eight fumbles) all season, which broke the franchise record (19 in 1972) for fewest turnovers in a season.
The mark of plus-24 is tied for the second-best margin in franchise history, matching the mark set in 1941 and 1965. The team record was set in 1943 when the Packers posted 51 takeaways (42 interceptions, nine fumble recoveries) compared to just 25 giveaways.
Since Mike McCarthy took over as head coach in 2006, the Packers have improved each season in the category. In McCarthy's first season the team finished even in the category before improving to plus-four in 2007 and plus-seven in 2008.
The last time the Packers led the league in turnover margin was when they tied for the league high in 2002 with a mark of plus-17.
With the interceptions from cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Tramon Williams and safety Atari Bigby, the Packers also finished as the No. 1 team in the league in interceptions with 30. That is the most that Green Bay has posted in a season since it posted the same total in 1981.
The Packers hadn't led the league in interceptions since 1965 when the team tied for the NFL lead with Washington with 27 picks. Green Bay also led the league with 40 total takeaways.
An NFL first
Wide receiver Donald Driver entered Sunday's game just 4 yards shy of his sixth straight 1,000-yard campaign, and the Packers didn't waste any time getting the veteran wideout the milestone.
On the first play of the game, Rodgers found Driver on a hitch route for a 14-yard gain to put him over 1,000 yards for the season. Driver already held the franchise record with six 1,000-yard seasons, and his seventh one also put the Green Bay's offense into the NFL record books.
With fellow wide receiver Greg Jennings already over 1,000 receiving yards for the season, Rodgers over 4,000 passing and running back Ryan Grant over 1,200 rushing yards, the Packers became the first team in NFL history to post a 4,000-yard passer, two 1,000-yard receivers and a 1,200-yard rusher in back-to-back seasons.
"We are a very versatile offense," Jennings said. "I think it speaks volumes of what we have accomplished over the last two seasons. We've been able to run the ball and we've definitely been able to throw the ball.
{sportsad300}"When we need those big plays to be made, we have guys that can step up and make those plays. It feels great. It feels great to not only do it last year but also this year being that we are a winning team this year instead of doing it in a losing effort last year."
Join the club
When wide receiver Jordy Nelson beat Cardinals cornerback Michael Adams down the middle of the field and made a 51-yard leaping grab down to Arizona's 1-yard line, he became the sixth Packer this season to post a 45-yard reception.
With receivers Driver, Jennings and James Jones, and tight ends Jermichael Finley and Spencer Havner, having already registered 45-yard grabs this season, Nelson helped the group tie the franchise mark set in 1983 and 1951.
In 1983, James Lofton, Paul Coffman, Gerry Ellis, Philip Epps, Jessie Clark and Gary Lewis all posted 45-yard catches, and in '51, Bob Mann, Ray Pelfrey, Fred Cone, Tony Canadeo, Dom Moselle and Jug Girard caught 45-yard passes.
Injury/participation update
The only injury the Packers reported after the game was to Woodson, who jammed his right shoulder just before halftime attempting to make a tackle of Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin.
"I think he is going to be fine," McCarthy said. "As we know, Charles has always fought through injuries. If the situation was different, he would have returned in the game."
"When he was walking off, he told me right then, he said, 'I'll be fine.' So I wasn't concerned after that."
Green Bay's inactives on Sunday were wide receiver Patrick Williams, safety Derrick Martin, fullback Korey Hall, cornerback Trevor Ford, linebacker Brandon Chillar, tackle Breno Giacomini, nose tackle Ryan Pickett and defensive end Michael Montgomery.
