DETROIT - Aaron Rodgers threw more
touchdowns against the Detroit Lions in 1½ quarters than he had
in his entire NFL career for the Green Bay Packers.
He scrambled to set up the first
score, looked one way and threw another on the next and lofted a
pass for the third.
Rodgers played like a veteran in
his first start on the road and Jon Kitna simply fell apart in his
113th game as a No. 1 quarterback, as Green Bay beat Detroit 48-25
Sunday.
The first-round pick from 2005 said
he learned a lot by watching Brett Favre play the past three years
without any pressure, but he clearly didn't copy his game-day
wardrobe.
Rodgers sported a pinstripe blue
suit and snazzy shoes at a postgame news conference, standing
behind the same podium where the three-time MVP wore a T-shirt,
carpenter's pants and a scruffy beard in his last visit to
Detroit.
"It's an old suit,"
Rodgers insisted. "But it's a go-to suit."
The Packers (2-0) didn't seem to
have any doubts about Rodgers being a go-to QB when they chose to
stick with him and trade Favre to the New York Jets as he came out
of retirement.
Now, it would be hard to find
anybody questioning the move.
Rodgers was 24-of-38 for 328 yards
and three scores — all career highs — and made several subtle
plays such as throwing away passes instead of taking sacks. He did
fumble twice on a third-quarter drive, though, and Detroit
recovered the second one to aid its comeback.
"Aaron put together a fine
performance," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "There's
a couple of things that he can learn from. He did a really good
job of using his feet to stay out of bad situations. He was very
decisive with the ball. He threw the ball very well.
"I thought he had a nice
day."
Kitna did, too, until unraveling in
the final 5-plus minutes by throwing three interceptions in a
seven-attempt span.
Charles Woodson had two of the
picks, returning his second for a score, and Nick Collins returned
the final interception for another TD.
Kitna finished 21-of-41 for 276
yards with two scores and three interceptions.
"When we needed it the most, I
didn't get the job done," he said.
Kitna took off his helmet and
walked to the sideline as Collins returned the third pick, looking
dejected by a game that tested emotions for anyone playing or
rooting for the Honolulu blue and silver.
The Packers led 21-0 midway through
the second quarter, but Detroit led by a point with 7:41 left
after Calvin Johnson caught his second TD in the fourth quarter.
The Packers went back ahead with a
field goal on the ensuing drive, then turned the game back into a
rout thanks to Kitna's interceptions.
Detroit is 0-2 for the fourth time
since 2001, when Matt Millen took control as team president,
beginning a stretch of futility that has sunk the franchise to an
NFL-worst 31-83 over that span.
"We just go back and work.
That's what I do," Lions coach Rod Marinelli bristled to a
reporter. "I'm not going to give you a magic wand. You want a
magic wand, you go home and take one."
Notes: Detroit RT George Foster,
who couldn't block DE Aaron Kampman, was benched in the second
half and replaced by first-round pick Gosder Cherilus. ... Packers
FB Korey Hall (knee), S Atari Bigby (cramps), Lions S Gerald
Alexander (concussion) and TE Casey FitzSimmons (thumb) were
injured during the game. ... Green Bay has beaten Detroit six
straight, matching the longest streak in the series since 1954,
and is 14-2 in the last 16 meetings.
