GREEN BAY – The Packers kept the Seahawks out of the end zone the entire game and defeated them, 17-9, in the 2017 season opener on Sunday at Lambeau Field.
Green Bay will take a 1-0 record to defending NFC champ Atlanta next weekend to open the Falcons' new stadium.
QB Aaron Rodgers took a while to get going, but he still posted a 300-yard game, going 28-of-42 for 311 yards with one TD and one INT for an 86.5 passer rating. His leading receiver was WR Randall Cobb, who had nine catches for 85 yards. WR Jordy Nelson added seven grabs for 79 yards and a TD, while RB Ty Montgomery carries 19 times for 54 yards with a score, adding four catches for 39 more yards.
For the Seahawks, QB Russell Wilson was 14-of-27 for 158 yards and a 69.7 rating. WRs Doug Baldwin (63 yards) and Paul Richardson (59 yards) had four catches each. RB Chris Carson led the Seahawks on the ground with six carries for 39 yards. Former Packers RB Eddie Lacy had just 3 yards on five attempts.
Here's a recap of all the action.First quarter:
The first quarter of the 2017 season was intense and event-filled, but ultimately scoreless.
The Packers won the toss and deferred to the second half. Seahawks WR Tyler Lockett returned the opening kickoff 43 yards to the Seattle 39, but Green Bay's defense got a quick three-and-out. CB Davon House's tackle for loss on a swing pass and LB Nick Perry's sack got the ball right back to the Packers.
The Packers got moving right away, overcoming their own penalties to do so. A taunting penalty on WR Randall Cobb wiped out his own 14-yard reception, and a delay of game set up long yardage. But a 13-yard completion to WR Jordy Nelson and a 29-yarder to Cobb got the Packers into Seattle territory.
QB Aaron Rodgers' next pass, though, was picked off at the line of scrimmage by DT Nazair Jones. His long return for a touchdown was nullified by a block in the back on Rodgers, who was chasing the play, and Seahawks CB Jeremy Lane was also ejected for throwing a punch in a scrum with WR Davante Adams. It was Rodgers' first interception in 251 regular-season pass attempts.
Seattle took over at the 50, but the Packers forced another three-and-out. After RB Eddie Lacy ran twice for 8 yards, DT Kenny Clark batted down QB Russell Wilson's third-and-2 pass. P Jon Ryan's punt pinned the Packers on their own 2-yard line with 7:53 left in the period.
RB Ty Montgomery carried twice for 6 yards, and then Rodgers scrambled for 5 to pick up the first down. Montgomery ran twice more for 5, and another third-down conversion came via a 10-yard pass to Cobb. A 9-yard pass to TE Lance Kendricks was followed by a 3-yard run by rookie RB Jamaal Williams to move the chains again.
At the Green Bay 40, the drive stalled. Two incomplete passes preceded a third-down sack by DE Cliff Avril, who beat substitute RT Kyle Murphy with speed around the edge, and the Packers had to punt.
Green Bay's defense got a third straight three-and-out as the quarter expired.Second quarter:
A late field goal broke the scoreless deadlock and sent the Packers into the locker room trailing the Seahawks, 3-0.
The second quarter began with a 59-yard punt by Ryan, and the Packers started at their own 12.
The Packers got moving on a pair of 13-yard passes to Adams. A defensive holding penalty gave the Packers another first down, on their own 43, but another third-down sack, this one by DE Michael Bennett, forced a punt. One play earlier, Nelson recorded his 500th career reception, the fourth players in Packers history to reach the milestone.
The Seahawks got their initial first down of the game on a 10-yard pass to RB Chris Carson on third-and-1. That was all, though. S Kentrell Brice pressured Wilson into a throwaway on second down, and then Wilson overshot Lockett on a deep ball, leading to another punt. Ryan again pinned the Packers deep, this time on their own 5, with a 52-yard boot.
The Packers went three-and-out, forcing rookie P Justin Vogel to punt from his own end zone. He got off a strong 57-yarder, and a Seattle penalty on the return pushed the Seahawks back to their own 32 to start the next drive. Avril left the field on that series with a shoulder injury and was announced as questionable to return.
Green Bay's defense got its fourth three-and-out in five possessions, and a 40-yard punt left the Packers on their own 29 to start with 5:38 left in the half.
Avril returned to the game for the Seahawks. After a first-down sack by LB Terence Garvin, Rodgers hit TE Martellus Bennett for 12 yards on third-and-11. Rodgers was sacked again, by Bennett and DE Frank Clark, but Seahawks DT Sheldon Richardson was injured on the play. He walked off under his own power.
On third-and-17, Rodgers hit Adams for 21 yards to get into Seattle territory at the 2-minute warning. The drive stalled there, though, and Vogel's punt was fair-caught at the 11 with 55 seconds left.
Three runs by RB C.J. Prosise picked up a first down with 30 seconds left. Wilson then hit WR Doug Baldwin for 34 yards to the Seattle 44, and Wilson took off on a scramble for 29 yards to the 15. Wilson threw incomplete to the end zone twice, and K Blair Walsh was good from 33 yards out on the final play of the half.
Third quarter:
Green Bay's defense set up a TD, and the offense put together a long drive as well, giving the Packers a 14-6 lead over the Seahawks heading into the fourth quarter.
The Packers got the ball to start the second half and picked up one first down on a pass to Nelson, but a holding call and a bad shotgun snap forced Green Bay to punt.
Green Bay's defense started the second half with a sack of Wilson, shared by Mike Daniels and Perry. Two plays later, Daniels got in there again and knocked the ball out of Wilson's hand, and LB Kyler Fackrell recovered at the Seattle 6-yard line.
Montgomery blasted through for the TD on the first play, and the Packers grabbed the lead, 7-3.
The Seahawks got a first down thanks to an offside penalty on Perry on third-and-1, and then RB Chris Carter broke free for a 30-yard run to the Green Bay 30. Wilson hit WR Paul Richardson along the sideline for 12 yards to the 18. Daniels tackled Lacy for a 3-yard loss, but a 10-yard pass to TE Nick Vannett set up third-and-3 from the 11. A scrambling Wilson hit Lockett for 8 yards to make it first-and-goal on the 3.
Three incomplete passes, including a near-interception by CB Damarious Randall, stopped the drive, and Walsh was good from 21 yards out to make it 7-6 with 4:20 left in the quarter.
Green Bay's next drive started with a holding penalty on G Jahri Evans, his second of the game, but Rodgers scrambled for the first down on third-and-11. A 6-yard run by Montgomery moved the chains again, and a 12-yard screen to Montgomery got the Packers into Seattle territory at the 40.
On the ensuing third-and-2, Rodgers caught the Seahawks with 12 men on the field, and he fired deep to Nelson for a 32-yard touchdown on the free play. K Mason Crosby's PAT put the Packers up 14-6 with 17 seconds left in the period.Fourth quarter:
Seattle's opening drive of the fourth stalled at its own 44, as TE Jimmy Graham dropped a back-shoulder throw along the sideline on third down.
It was announced Packers LB Ahmad Brooks is out for the game with a concussion, CB Damarious Randall was questionable to return with cramps, and backup OL Jason Spriggs was also questionable to return with a hamstring injury.
The Packers took over on their own 25 and got moving. A 6-yard run by Montgomery picked up one first down, and a swing pass to him for 20 yards moved the ball to the Seattle 44. After an 8-yard pass to Cobb, Montgomery plowed ahead for 3 more and another first down, but came off limping.
Williams picked up the slack with a 6-yard run, and a quick 5-yard pass to Nelson out of the slot converted on third-and-4. Three straight incomplete passes from the 22 brought on Crosby, and he was good from 40 yards out to make it 17-6 with 8:01 left.
The Seahawks wasted no time. Passes to Baldwin for 11 and Richardson for 28 and 13 made it first down on the Green Bay 23. Randall was back in the game for Green Bay, then came back out. The Packers' defense held there, pushing WR Amara Darboh out of bounds on an attempted leaping catch near the pylon, and getting a pass break-up on Graham by S Morgan Burnett.
Walsh was good on the 41-yard field goal, and Seattle was back within one score at 17-9 with 6:17 left.
Montgomery returned to the game, and a 10-yard pass to Cobb plus a 9-yard pass to Nelson moved the chains twice. With Seattle using two timeouts on the next series, Rodgers scrambled for a first down on third-and-4. A personal foul after the play on Packers TE Martellus Bennett moved Green Bay back 15 yards to make it first-and-10 from the Green Bay 46 with 2:59 left.
A few snaps later, a 26-yard completion to Bennett picked up the last first down the Packers needed, and they kneeled out the victory.
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