GREEN BAY – The Packers' defense got the stop, QB Aaron Rodgers made the big play, and K Mason Crosby gave the Packers a 27-24 overtime victory on Sunday at Lambeau Field.
With the win, the Packers improved to 2-1 on the season, creating a three-way tie for first place in the NFC North with the Lions and Vikings.
Rodgers' 71-yard connection with WR Geronimo Allison set up the winning points. Crosby's field goal was good from 27 yards out.
Rodgers finished 28-of-42 for 313 yards with three TDs, one INT and a 102.6 passer rating. Allison had six catches for 122 yards, and WR Jordy Nelson had six grabs for 52 yards and two scores.
For the Bengals, QB Andy Dalton finished 21-of-27 for 212 yards with two TDs and a 124.1 rating. WR A.J. Green had 10 catches for 111 yards and a score, and RB Joe Mixon rushed 18 times for 62 yards.
Here's a recap of all action.First quarter:
Both teams scored touchdowns on their opening possessions, and the first quarter ended with the Bengals driving to break the 7-7 tie.
The Bengals scored their first touchdown of the season on the game's opening drive. QB Andy Dalton moved the chains twice with 13-yard passes to TE Tyler Kroft and WR A.J. Green. He then found RB Joe Mixon for a 20-yard catch-and-run on third-and-4, and a facemask penalty on Packers S Marwin Evans made it first down on the Green Bay 12. Mixon's play was officially ruled a run because Dalton's pass went backwards.
Then on third-and-8, Dalton found Green for the 10-yard TD, and the Bengals were on the board first.
The Packers started at their own 40 after the kickoff went out of bounds, and they quickly got a 33-yard pass interference penalty on CB Adam Jones to get into Cincinnati territory. A 7-yard run by RB Ty Montgomery and a 9-yard pass to WR Jordy Nelson put the ball on the 11. WR Davante Adams then took a quick pass, juked his defender in the open field, and dove for the goal line.
The ball came out and was recovered by the Bengals, but replay ruled that Adams was down inside the 1. QB Aaron Rodgers then found TE Lance Kendricks wide open off play-action for the TD to tie the game.
The Bengals got across midfield again on their second possession, on the strength of completions of 17 yards to Green and 14 yards to Kroft. But on third-and-8, rookie S Josh Jones came on a blitz and sacked Dalton, forcing a punt.
WR Trevor Davis made some nifty moves on the punt return, gaining 33 yards in all out to the Green Bay 40. But the Packers went three-and-out, losing yardage along the way, and a bad punt by P Justin Vogel went just 27 yards, giving the ball back to the Bengals at their own 40.
CB Damarious Randall tackled Mixon for a 6-yard loss on first down, but Mixon countered with a pair of 9-yard receptions to move the chains anyway. RB Gio Bernard then busted through for a 25-yard run to the Green Bay 23 on the final play of the quarter.Second quarter:
Packers QB Aaron Rodgers threw just the second pick-six of his career, and it put the Packers down, 21-7, to the Bengals at halftime.
The Bengals started the second quarter by handing off to RB Jeremy Hill four straight times for 17 yards, and then Dalton found Bernard wide open on a swing pass for a 6-yard touchdown. Cincinnati led 14-7 with 12:29 left in the half.
The Packers got back into scoring position on a 41-yard flea-flicker pass to Adams, but on third-and-6 from the 30, Rodgers pass for Nelson was picked off by CB William Jackson, who raced 75 yards the other way for the touchdown.
It was Rodgers' first pick-six since 2009 and just the second of his career. It put the Packers down, 21-7, with 10:20 left in the half.
Rodgers got the Packers going on their next drive with a 9-yard scramble on third-and-4. But a third-down sack on the next series by LB Carl Lawson forced the Packers to punt. Vogel recovered with a strong 54-yard effort that, combined with a holding penalty on Cincinnati, put the Bengals on their own 6-yard line to start.
The Bengals got out of the hole on a 10-yard run by Mixon and an 11-yard pass to Green, but LB Blake Martinez stopped Bernard on third-and-3, and the Bengals punted. An illegal block on LB Kyler Fackrell on Davis' return put the Packers back on their own 17 with 2:40 left.
After yet another sack, the Packers went three-and-out, and another booming punt by Vogel from deep in Green Bay territory pushed the Bengals back to their own 37 with 1:41 to go.
Green Bay's defense got a three-and-out, and after a fair catch, the Packers took over on their own 10 with 38 seconds left. The Packers got just one first down, Rodgers was sacked again, and the Lambeau Field crowd began booing in the final seconds of the half.
The Bengals muffed the punt and the Packers recovered, but there was no time left on the clock to run another play.Third quarter:
The Packers got one touchdown back and were driving for possibly another as the third quarter ended with the Bengals leading, 21-14.
The Packers got going right away at the start of the second half, as Rodgers found Kendricks for a 51-yard gain on the first play. Passes of 5 yards to TE Martellus Bennett and 6 yards to Nelson were followed by two runs by RB Ty Montgomery for 11 yards to make it first-and-goal on the 2.
A few snaps later, on third-and-goal from the 1, Rodgers rolled right and flipped it to Nelson for the TD. The Bengals' lead was down to 21-14 with 9:54 left in the quarter.
The Bengals responded with a 21-yard screen pass to Mixon on their first play, but the Packers stopped the drive there as DT Kenny Clark brought Mixon down for a 2-yard loss on first down, and LB Ahmad Brooks sacked Dalton on third down.
The Packers gave it right back, though, as Rodgers was sacked for the sixth time in the game and Green Bay punted. Bengals WR Alex Erickson returned it 20 yards to the Green Bay 47.
The Bengals got into scoring range on consecutive 11-yard passes to WR Tyler Boyd and Green, but the Packers stopped it there. S Josh Jones got his second sack of the game on third down, and Bengals K Randy Bullock missed wide right from 48 yards out.
Rodgers scrambled for 13 yards, connected with WR Geronimo Allison for a 9-yard reception off a deflection, and found Nelson for 23 yards on third-and-1 to get the ball in the red zone as the quarter expired.Fourth quarter:
The Packers scored the game-tying touchdown with 17 seconds left and went to overtime. QB Aaron Rodgers completed 9-of-11 passes on the last-ditch drive, hitting WR Jordy Nelson for a 3-yard TD to tie the game at 24.
The Packers blew a huge scoring opportunity to open the final quarter. With first-and-5 on the Cincinnati 12 after a 12-men penalty on the defense, the Packers ended up settling for a 28-yard Mason Crosby field goal after Adams dropped a third-down slant pass. The Packers trailed, 21-17, with 14:43 to go.
The Bengals got one first down on their next drive but stalled there, as Brooks got pressure on Dalton again and forced an intentional grounding penalty. After the punt, the Packers took over on their own 21 with 12:37 left.
For the Packers, Justin McCray replaced Bryan Bulaga (ankle) at RT. A pass interference call on CB Adam Jones against Allison on third-and-2 gave the Packers an initial first down, but that was all. Vogel's sideline punt put the Bengals on their own 9.
The Bengals got out of the hole when rookie CB Kevin King was called for pass interference on third-and-5, and then Dalton hit Green for 20 yards on the next play. Mixon ran four times for 28 yards, setting up third-and-1 from the Green Bay 27. A broken play led to getting Dalton tackled for a loss of 1, and Bullock was good from 46 yards out to put the Bengals up, 24-17, with 3:46 left.
Allison's 17-yard reception started the drive, and his 11-yard diving catch converted on third-and-9. Nelson added a 10-yard reception for a first down on the Cincinnati 33 at the two-minute warning.
Passes of 5 yards to Montgomery and 6 to Bennett put the ball on the 22 with 1:13 left. Adams made tacklers miss for a 9-yard gain to the 13. Montgomery ran for 6 to make it first-and-goal on the 7, and an offside penalty put the ball on the 3. Rodgers found Nelson for a diving TD catch along the sideline with 17 seconds left, and Crosby's PAT tied the game at 24.
The touchdown was Nelson's 66th career, moving him into sole possession of second place on the franchise's all-time list, behind only Don Hutson's 99.Overtime:
The Bengals won the toss and took the ball to start overtime. Green Bay's defense immediately got a three-and-out, as LB Blake Martinez got a tackle for loss on first down, and S Josh Jones tackled Kroft well short of the first-down marker on third down.
After the 58-yard punt and a 9-yard Davis return, Green Bay began on its own 21.
On third-and-10, with the Bengals jumping offside, Rodgers found Allison wide open deep downfield, and he raced 72 yards in all, all the way down to the Cincinnati 7-yard line.
Rodgers put the ball in the middle of the field, and Crosby sent the 78,000-plus at Lambeau home happy.
