New England Patriots

Packers at Patriots: Live updates and analysis

The Patriots pulled away from the Packers for a 31-17 win Sunday night.

Tom Brady and the Patriots are hosting the Packers on Sunday night. Maddie Meyer / Getty Images

By Rachel G. Bowers, Rachel Bowers

9 minutes to read

Tom Brady and the Patriots defeated the Packers, 31-17, on Sunday night to win their sixth game in a row and improve to 7-2.

Below are updates from the game as it unfolded.

Fourth quarter

Patriots 31, Packers 17 (3:52): 

Green Bay turned it over on downs after a nine-play, 27-yard drive.

Patriots 31, Packers 17 (7:20): Tom Brady connected with Josh Gordon for a 55-yard touchdown on the third play of the possession.

It was Gordon’s second touchdown as a Patriot, and Brady’s first touchdown throw since Week 7.

Patriots 24, Packers 17 (9:21): Less than a minute after James White gave New England the lead again, Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay went three-and-out.

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On third down, Trey Flowers and Adrian Clayborn blew up Rodgers’s protection and sacked him for a loss of 9 yards.

Patriots 24, Packers 17 (10:06): James White scored his second rushing TD of the night, this one from 1-yard out. The run capped a 10-play, 76-yard drive off of a Green Bay fumble.

On the seventh play of the possession, the Patriots went into their bag of tricks and pulled out a double pass: Julian Edelman hit White on a 37-yard catch-and-run.

Patriots 17, Packers 17 (14:52): Lawrence Guy forced Aaron Jones to fumble, and Stephon Gilmore recovered it. Tom Brady and Co. took over at their own 23-yard line.

Third quarter

Patriots 17, Packers 17 (5:07): 

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After Antonio Morrison sacked Tom Brady for a loss of 11 on third down, making it fourth and 21, Green Bay was whistled for roughing the punter, giving New England a fresh set of downs. But Brady and Co. couldn’t do anything with another chance, punting four plays later.

Patriots 17, Packers 17 (5:25): Green Bay went three-and-out after the Patriots turned it over on downs.

Patriots 17, Packers 17 (7:02): New England turned it over on downs after its offense couldn’t covert a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. Tom Brady couldn’t connect with Josh Gordon in the end zone, Gordon slipping a bit as Brady’s pass sailed by.

Brady also couldn’t connect on third-and-short, his pass intended for Chris Hogan knocked down by rookie Josh Jackson.

Cordarrelle Patterson’s second down effort was first ruled a touchdown before it was overturned.

The Patriots’ drive was 12 plays, covered 74 yards, and included a 21-yard catch by Dwayne Allen and 14- and 17-yard catches by Gordon.

Patriots 17, Packers 17 (11:18): On the opening drive of the second half, Aaron Rodgers hit Jimmy Graham for a 15-yard touchdown. It capped a seven-play, 76-yard drive.

Earlier in the drive, Bill Belichick challenged the ruling that Davante Adams made a 15-yard catch on the second play of the series. Officials overturned the call, giving the Packers a third-and-6 from their own 28. But on the next play, Marquez Valdes-Scantling beat Jason McCourty to make a 51-yard catch.

Halftime stats

Total yards: 

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NE 195, GB 198

Plays: NE 31, GB 42

Yards per play: NE 6.3, GB 4.7

First downs: NE 15, GB 15

Third down: NE 2 of 5, GB 3-7

Penalties-yards: NE 3-15, GB 4-30

Time of possession: NE 10:46, GB 19:14

Tom Brady: 10 of 16 for 121 yards, 85.7 rating

Aaron Rodgers: 16 of 27 for 123 yards, TD, 82.8 rating

NE rushing: Cordarrelle Patterson 5 for 51, James White 6 for 27, Kenjon Barner 1 for 4, Brady 1 for 2

GB rushing: Aaron Jones 8 for 48, Jamaal Williams 5 for 27, Rodgers 2 for 0

NE receiving: Julian Edelman 3 for 53, Josh Gordon 1 for 29, White 3 for 26, Phillip Dorsett 2 for 13

GB receiving: Jimmy Graham 3 for 40, Davante Adams 5 for 32, Randall Cobb 4 for 24, Williams 2 for 20, Equanimeous St. Brown 1 for 4, Jones 1 for 3

Second quarter

Patriots 17, Packers 10 (1:57): Cordarrelle Patterson scored a 5-yard touchdown to give New England the lead again, capping a seven-play, 69-yard drive. Patterson toted the rock four times for 40 yards on the possession and has five carries for 51 yards on the night.

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Patriots 10, Packers 10 (3:11): Green Bay safety Jermaine Whitehead was ejected. He was flagged for unnecessary roughness after smacking center David Andrews in the face.

Patriots 10, Packers 10 (4:49): Aaron Rodgers fired a 2-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams to tie it up. It was a 13-play, 79-yard drive by Green Bay.

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Rodgers is now 14-of-24 passing for 110 yards and the TD.

Patriots 10, Packers 3 (13:30): Stephen Gostkowski made a chip shot 28-yarder to add to New England’s lead. The seven-play, 78-yard drive included a 29-catch by Josh Gordon and a flea-flicker that resulted in a 33-yard catch by Julian Edelman.

First quarter

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  New England and Green Bay traded punt on their second possessions.

Patriots 7, Packers 3 (5:05): Aaron Rodgers and his offense marched 62 plays on 14 yards, taking up 6:35 of clock, but had to settle for a 29-yard Mason Crosby field goal for their first points of the game.

Rogers completed 6 of 9 passes for 39 yards on the drive, which included a delay of game penalty on Green Bay that turned a second-and-goal from the 9 to a second-and-goal from the 14. On the next play, cornerback Stephon Gilmore came up with a big pass breakup in the end zone, knocking down a well-thrown ball intended for Davante Adams. The Patriots’ defense then bottled up Randall Cobb on third down, forcing Green Bay to bring on Crosby.

Deatrich Wise Jr. recorded two QB hits on the drive.

Patriots 7, Packers 0 (11:40): New England opened with a quick touchdown drive, covering 59 yards in 3 minutes, 20 seconds. An 8-yard touchdown run by James White capped it off. Tom Brady completed 5 of 6 passes for 39 yards and rushed for 2 yards on the series, inching him closer to 1,000 rushing yards for his career.

Of the 10 plays, White had six touches: 3 carries for 18 yards and 3 catches for 26 yards. Phillip Dorsett had 2 catches for 13 yards.

Coin toss

The Packers won the coin toss and chose to defer. The Patriots will receive the opening kickoff.

Red Sox’ victory tour hits Gillette

The World Champion Sox entered the field via duck boat prior to kickoff.

Inactives

For the Patriots, tight end Rob Gronkowski, running back Sony Michel, linebacker Nicholas Grigsby, tight end Jacob Hollister, offensive lineman Cole Croston, right guard Shaq Mason, and offensive lineman Brian Schwenke.

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For the Packers, quarterback Tim Boyle, punter Drew Kaser, cornerback Tony Brown, linebacker Korey Toomer, offensive linemen Justin McCray and Alex Light, and receiver Geronimo Allison.

Pregame scenes

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Keys to victory

Packers

1. Spread Davante Adams out far and wide. As Bill Belichick said, “Everything’s a problem,’’ when it comes to Adams. He fights for every ball and is elusive after the catch.

2. Clay Matthews must be a force — but not too forceful (watch those roughing-the-passer calls). He has excellent instincts and a high-revving engine.

3. Giant tackles David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga must keep the Patriots out of Aaron Rodgers’s face. The QB can’t continue to take the punishment he’s absorbed and be effective.

Patriots

1. Tom Brady & Co. must cash in when they get to the red zone. This game could turn into a track meet, and settling for field goals just won’t work against Aaron Rodgers.

2. Identifying and picking up Green Bay’s multiple blitz packages is imperative to give Brady time to run through his reads and his receivers the time to get free.

3. It’ll take a championship effort to rattle Rodgers. Pressure needs to come from everywhere to take away his time and space. Play through the whistle, because this guy sure does.

— Jim McBride

Pregame reading

■  New England vs. Green Bay scouting report: Who has the edge in every phase of the game. (Read more)

■  Report card: We reviewed the first half of the Patriots’ season, sorting items into five categories: Great, Good, Fair, Needs Improvement, and Poor. (Read more)

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■  What if Brady and Rodgers were living each other’s reality? The two California kids have been at the top of the NFL for more than a decade, in Brady’s case close to two, each with one team, yet they meet Sunday for just the second time. Wouldn’t it be cool to Freaky Friday them, just to see? (Read more)

■  Christopher L. Gasper: What’s up with Gronkowski is a fair question. It’s one that’s not going away because it’s impossible not to view his play through the lens of his contract, which had performance incentives added to it for the second consecutive season. It creates a compelling soap opera — As the Tight End Earns. (Read more)

■  Chad Finn’s Unconventional Preview: Let’s not confuse Rodgers with Brady as the greatest quarterback of all time. (Read more)

■  Brady is approaching a career milestone, and it has nothing to do with passing. (Read more)

■  Despite ranking in the bottom half of the NFL in points and yards allowed per game, the Green Bay defense has been one of the best in football at generating quarterback pressure, often in creative, disguisable ways. The Packers are tied for third in the NFL with 3.3 sacks per game. (Read more)