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Packers enjoy run of success

GREEN BAY — Aaron Rodgers joked that he was jealous of the Green Bay Packers’ running backs after their 48-10 rout of the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

“When you’re laying in bed on Saturday night, you’re kind of hoping for five passing touchdowns,” Rodgers said.

Packers backs did one better than Rodgers’ dream scenario by scoring all six of the team’s touchdowns against the Seahawks, including five on running plays.

“Six by the backs, I don’t think you could ask for a better day,” lead back Ryan Grant said. “I’m proud of the guys.

“That’s a reflection of everybody—hard work in the backfield, guys up front playing their butts off, and everybody just taking advantage of the opportunities.”

The Packers ran in five touchdowns for the first time since a 45-3 win over New England on Oct. 9, 1988.

The team record for rushing touchdowns is six.

“(It was) just getting the job done, smelling the end zone,” Packers running back Brandon Jackson said. “I told ‘em at halftime, ‘You’ve just got to smell it.”‘

Jackson visited the end zone with the most frequency, getting there three times in a situational role.

He started the scoring with a 13-yard touchdown on a screen pass from Rodgers in the first quarter. Jackson added a pair of short touchdown runs in the second half.

Before Sunday, Jackson had only two touchdowns his entire three-year career, and none this season.

“It feels good. Coming into this game, I wasn’t thinking that I was going to get three touchdowns,” Jackson said.

Grant came through with his second two-touchdown outing in the past three games, highlighted by a 56-yard dash in the second quarter.

He has a career-high 10 rushing touchdowns this season.

Ahman Green completed the ground gains with a fourth-quarter touchdown run, his first since rejoining the Packers in October.

Green Bay had 153 rushing yards Sunday.

“It’s nice to have some of the burden taken off of you,” said Rodgers, who has thrown a career-high 29 touchdown passes.

Milestones

Rodgers was taken out of the game late in the third quarter with the Packers ahead 38-3.

His 237 passing yards gave him 4,199 this season.

Coupled with the 4,038 yards he amassed as Brett Favre’s successor last season, Rodgers is the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 4,000 yards each of his first two years as a starter.

“It means that I’ve been able to be on the field consistently for 31 straight games and I’ve been fortunate enough to throw to some very talented guys and been coached very well,” Rodgers said of the distinction.

Since the Packers clinched a playoff spot Sunday, it’s unsure whether coach Mike McCarthy will rest players in the regular-season finale at the Arizona Cardinals next Sunday.

Rodgers could have a shot to break Green Bay’s single-season record for passing yards. He is 259 yards behind Lynn Dickey’s mark of 4,458 in 1983.

Meanwhile, Grant became only the third Packer to reach the 1,200-yard plateau for rushing yards in back-to-back seasons, joining Hall of Famer Jim Taylor (1961-62) and Green (2001-03).

His 16 carries for 97 yards bumped his total to 1,202 yards.

Crosby finds his mark

Mason Crosby shrugged off criticism from fans who were calling for a new kicker in Green Bay in the wake of his recent struggles by connecting on both of his field-goal attempts Sunday.

“Talking about makes is always a positive,” Crosby said.

Crosby had a field-goal miss in each of the Packers’ four previous games, including a 34-yard try in their 37-36, last-second loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Dec. 20.

McCarthy continued to express confidence in Crosby’s kicking abilities after that game, however, and said the team wouldn’t explore potential late-season replacements.

Crosby, who spent a lot of time in practice last week working on kicking basics, rewarded the team’s faith in him with field goals of 29 and 52 yards on a frigid afternoon at Lambeau Field.

“I was excited for Mason to have that opportunity (on the long field goal), and he nailed it,” said McCarthy.