Green Bay limit Seattle to only 225 yards and 12 first downs
Monday 11 September 2017 09:13, UK
Green Bay Packers saw off the Seattle Seahawks 17-9 in their home season opener at Lambeau Field, thanks to a much-improved performance from their defence.
The same defence that surrendered 44 points and 493 total yards to the explosive Atlanta Falcons offence in their NFC Championship defeat in January didn't concede a touchdown here, and allowed only 225 yards and 12 first downs.
In fairness, both offences were poor in a first half that was scoreless right up until Seattle put three points on the board with a field goal as time expired.
However, Ty Montgomery rumbled in for a six-yard score early on in the second half, and Aaron Rodgers - who earlier threw a first interception in 251 regular-season pass attempts in the opening quarter - connected with Jordy Nelson for a 32-yard touchdown later in the third quarter.
Seattle, meanwhile, couldn't similarly up their offensive production in the second half, having to settle for just two further field goals as they slipped to defeat.
In the other Sunday evening games in the NFL, the Los Angeles Rams secured a huge 46-9 home win over the Indianapolis Colts, while the Carolina Panthers bettered the San Francisco 49ers 32-3 along the Californian coast.
Jared Goff passed for a career-high 306 yards and a touchdown in his first victory as an NFL starter for the Rams, while the L.A. defence also excelled against fill-in Colts quarterback Scott Tolzien, who had two interceptions returned for touchdowns.
In San Francisco, Cam Newton threw a pair of touchdown passes following 49ers turnovers, while the Carolina defence limited Kyle Shanahan's offence to only three points in his coaching debut.
