Watch NFL Sunday night triple-header - Seattle Seahawks @ Washington Football Team, Kansas City Chiefs @ New Orleans Saints, Cleveland Browns @ New York Giants - live on Sky Sports NFL from 5pm
Sunday 20 December 2020 11:27, UK
Aaron Jones rushed for 145 yards and a touchdown as the Green Bay Packers held off a late Carolina Panthers rally to clinch a 24-16 win on Saturday night.
Jones scored on an eight-yard run in the second quarter to see Green Bay stretch their lead to 21-3 by half-time. Carolina twice cut that lead to one score in the second half, but ultimately it proved to be too little too late as Panthers quarterback Teddy Bridgewater couldn't lead his team down the field for the game-tying TD in the final minute.
Bridgewater completed 21 of 35 passes for 258 yards and had a rushing touchdown for Carolina, while counterpart Aaron Rodgers was 20 of 29 for 143 yards for the Packers.
Green Bay's victory is their fourth in a row. They had already clinched the NFC North division title and currently own the No 1 seed in the NFC with two games to play.
The Packers started the game hot, opening the scoring on their first possession. Rodgers connected with Robert Tonyan for a one-yard touchdown, which capped a seven-play, 81-yard drive.
The play marked Tonyan's 10th touchdown of the season and his fifth game in a row with a score. It has been a breakout season for the tight end, who made his debut for Green Bay in 2018 as a little-known, undrafted free agent from Indiana State.
Carolina pulled to within 7-3 on a 36-yard field goal by Joey Slye later in the first quarter, but the Packers pulled ahead with two second-quarter TDs - Rodgers himself scoring on a six-yard run before Jones then found the endzone.
The Panthers mounted a comeback in the second half, with Bridgewater first scoring on a 13-yard run, before they twice made it a one-score game via the boot of Slye - either side of a Mason Crosby field goal for Green Bay, giving them a bit of wiggle room.
Rodgers came under increasing pressure from the Panthers defence, being sacked four times, and the Panthers would be afforded one final opportunity to tie the game and take it to overtime but couldn't mount a drive in the final minute.
Sky Sports NFL is your dedicated channel for NFL coverage through the season - featuring a host of NFL Network programming, a new weekly preview show as well as at least five games a week and NFL Redzone, you won't miss a moment. Don't forget to follow us on skysports.com/nfl, our Twitter account @SkySportsNFL & Sky Sports - on the go!
