Aaron Rodgers completed 9-of-15 passes for 117 yards with a touchdown and an interception as the Packers' first units exited the game after four series each with a 10-7 lead on Monday night at Lambeau Field against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Rodgers connected with WR James Jones for a 30-yard touchdown at the end of the first quarter to cap a six-play, 75-yard scoring drive and give the Packers a 10-0 lead. Jones took a big hit after the catch from S Marvin White that jarred his helmet off, but regained his balance and went the remaining 15 yards for the score. Rodgers was 3-of-4 for 45 yards on the drive, the first unit's final series of the night.
"He had a number of opportunities that he took advantage of," Head Coach Mike McCarthy said at halftime. "I thought he did a good job of managing the huddle. I didn't like the way we started on offense, particularly with the false start, the mental error with the protection that resulted in the sack, and then the interception in the second series. But I thought there was a lot of quality work, a lot of things we can build off of, and I thought he was off to a good start."
On the previous drive, Rodgers completed a 30-yard pass down the left sideline to WR Ruvell Martin on 3rd-and-2 to put the Packers inside the Bengals' 20-yard line. K Mason Crosby capped that drive with a 37-yard field goal.
"We were close to really putting some points on the board," Rodgers said. "We just didn't execute as well as we probably could have. We're going to clean it up, watch the film, make the corrections and get better next week."
Rodgers' interception came on the second series on a pass intended for WR Chris Francies inside Cincinnati's 20 went off Francies' chest and was picked off by S Dexter Jackson.
Brandon Jackson had six carries for 44 yards, including a 16-yard gain where he made a nifty move to avoid defensive tackle Domata Peko in the backfield and a 22-yard run where he broke a tackle on the Packers' touchdown drive.
Green Bay's defense forced three straight three-and-outs from the Bengals to start the game, allowing only 13 yards of offense on those three series. The Bengals got on the board with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Carson Palmer to TE Ben Utecht to finish off a 9-play, 80-yard drive, which was the last series of the night for the Packers' defensive starters.
