Patriots pull away in fourth quarter to beat Packers

[November 05, 2018]  Quarterbacks Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers were the headliners. Wide receiver Julian Edelman, however, delivered the big pass of the night.

His 37-yard completion to running back James White on a trick play was the play that helped send the New England Patriots to a 31-17 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night in Foxboro, Mass.

With the game tied at 17, the Packers were on the move but defensive lineman Lawrence Guy stripped the ball from running back Aaron Jones with cornerback Stephon Gilmore recovering at the 24. On second-and-6 from Green Bay's 39, Brady threw a backward pass to Edelman, who threw the ball across the field to White, who followed a convoy of blockers to the 2.

White carried three consecutive times, finally punching it across the goal line to make it 24-17 with 10:06 remaining.

After a sack by defensive linemen Trey Flowers and Adrian Clayborn capped a three-and-out, the Patriots put the game away. Brady looked to be throwing a screen. Instead, he fired downfield Josh Gordon, who caught the ball at the 38, shook a tackle from safety Tramon Williams and went untouched the rest of the way for a 55-yard touchdown.

Brady finished 22 of 35 for 294 yards and a touchdown, White scored two touchdowns and Gordon caught five passes for 130 yards and one touchdown for the Patriots (7-2). New England won without tight end Rob Gronkowski, running back Sony Michel and guard Shaq Mason.

Rodgers threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns but completed just 24 of 43 passes. Rookie receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling caught three passes for 101 yards.

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Patriots wide receiver Josh Gordon (10) runs for a touchdown after a reception during the fourth quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports

The Patriots led 17-10 at halftime. New England struck first with a rapid-fire, 10-play draft in which it snapped the ball every 20 seconds. White gained most of the 59 yards, including 8 yards untouched on a toss around left end for the score.

Green Bay tied the game 10-10 with 4:49 remaining in the first half on Rodgers' 2-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams. New England answered, though, behind the running of receiver Cordarrelle Patterson.

After White limped off the field, Patterson ran for 10, 17, 8 and 5 for the score. On the 10-yard run, Packers safety Jermaine Whitehead was ejected for an open-hand slap to the head of Patriots center David Andrews.

--Field Level Media

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