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| Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) scrambles with the football against the Washington Redskins on September 23, 2018 at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland. Photo by Alex Edelman/UPI |
By Bucky Gleason, The Sports Xchange
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers needed only 43 seconds to show the distance separating one of the best passers in history and inexperienced rookies who are prone to mistakes while learning on the fly in the National Football League.
Josh Allen made an ill-advised pass late in the first half Sunday that was intercepted near the goal line, and Rodgers marched the Packers into field-goal position in less than a minute, a six-point swing for Green Bay in a 22-0 victory over the Buffalo Bills.
The Packers dominated on both sides of the ball and built a 16-0 lead in the first half to pull away from the Bills. Green Bay was back on track after losing last week to Washington and negated any chance Buffalo had of pulling off a major upset for the second straight week.
Rodgers, in his 11th season as a starter and 14th in the NFL, was in control from beginning to end. He picked apart the Bills' defense in the first half and finished 22-of-40 for 298 yards with one touchdown and his first interception this season.
The Packers sat on their comfortable lead in the second half and posted their first shutout since beating the Jets, 9-0, in 2010. The Bills were shut out for the first time since the Patriots beat them, 13-0, in 2008.
Allen, the seventh overall pick, played like a rookie after two solid starts for the Bills since taking over for Nathan Peterman in the opener. Allen completed just 5-of-19 passes for 58 yards in the first half, including a 34-yarder to Kelvin Benjamin on a blown coverage.
The Bills barely resembled the attacking team that blew out Minnesota 27-6 a week earlier on the road. Buffalo had only 82 yards on offense in the first half Sunday while surrendering 263 yards to the Packers.
Rodgers was 12-of-20 for 158 yards in the first half.
Allen finished 16-of-33 for 151 yards with two interceptions, and he was sacked seven times. He had a chance to bring the Bills within two scores in the first half before his desperation heave was picked off by Jaire Alexander near the end zone. Allen also was intercepted by safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.
The Bills were hoping to validate their shocking road win over the Vikings last week with another at Lambeau Field. Buffalo was a 17-point underdog entering the Minnesota game and built a 17-point lead in the first quarter en route to a 27-6 victory.
Buffalo was a 10-point underdog against Green Bay, but there was no chance the Packers would take them for granted. Green Bay was coming off a 31-17 loss to Washington and showed up ready to play Sunday.
The Packers held the Bills to 37 yards in the first quarter.
The Bills had been putting more pressure on the quarterback than any team in the NFL in the first three weeks, but they barely had a sniff of Rodgers. Green Bay's offensive line did a good job protecting Rodgers, and he helped the cause with his quick release.
Rodgers has been slowed by a knee injury in the season opener - and he was nowhere near top speed Sunday - but he remained elusive against the Bills. He rushed for a first down in the first quarter and moved the Packers inside the five with a 10-yard run in the second.
Aaron Jones scored a play later on a run off left tackle, and the Packers had a 13-0 lead.
In the first quarter, Rodgers hit Ty Montgomery with a 37-yard pass after Matt Milano failed to pick him up coming out of the backfield, setting up a short touchdown pass to Jimmy Graham.
Green Bay (2-1-1) travels to Detroit next Sunday while Buffalo (1-3) returns home to play Tennessee.
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