Packers win despite being outgained by Jacksonville

The Green Bay Packers moved into a tie for second place in the NFC North Division with a 24-15 home victory over Jacksonville Sunday. At 5-3 the Packers and Minnesota are both a game and a half behind 6-1 Chicago.

Green Bay was a 15-point favorite going in, but the Packers only led by two at the start of the fourth quarter. Aaron Rodgers' four-yard touchdown pass to Donald Driver with 12:36 left gave the Pack its winning margin. The two teams traded field goals the rest of the way.

Rodgers completed 22 of 35 for 186 yards. He had two TD passes, which moved him past Bart Starr for second place on Green Bay's all-time list.

Rodgers has 153 scoring passes, trailing only Brett Favre with 442.

Also, the Packers recovered their first blocked punt for a touchdown since 1990. Davon House blocked Bryan Anger's kick and rookie Dezman Moses pounced on the ball in the end zone.

Packers receiver Jordy Nelson missed the game with a hamstring injury.

Two Green Bay defensive ends left the game with injuries, rookie Jerel Worthy with a concussion and Mike Neal with a bad ankle. Jacksonville's offense, the least productive in the NFL, outgained the Packers. The Jaguars moved the ball 341 yards, compared to the Packers’ 238 yards.

Jacksonville lost its fourth straight and is now 1-6. The Packers have now won three in a row. They'll host Arizona next Sunday.

Stats

Jacksonville almost overcame the loss of its star running back Maurice Jones-Drew. Rashad Jennings ran for 59 yards and had 56 more yards on six catches.

Cecil Shorts caught eight passes for a career-high 116 yards.

Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert played through a sore shoulder and threw for 303 yards and a touchdown.

Neither quarterback threw an interception. Each was sacked twice.

Also, each team lost a fumble.

James Jones was the Packers' leading receiver with seven catches for 78 yards. Randall Cobb had five catches and a score.

Packers running back Alex Green rushed for 54 yards on 22 carries. Donald Driver played in his 200th regular season game. He joined Favre as the only Packers to achieve that longevity.

Bears lead division

The Chicago Bears edged Carolina at home 23-22. Robbie Gould made a 41-yard field goal as time expired.

Carolina led by five points with seven minutes left, but Cam Newton threw an interception to Tim Jennings, who scored from 25 yards out to give the Bears a one-point lead. The two teams traded field goals to end it.

Jay Cutler threw for 186 yards, a touchdown, and an interception for Chicago. Matt Forte ran for 70 yards and a score.

The Detroit Lions beat Seattle at home 28-24 on Titus Young's second touchdown catch of the game with 20 seconds left. Young had a career day with nine catches for 100 yards.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 352 yards, three scores, and a pick, as Detroit improved to 3-4, still last in the NFC North by a game and a half.

Badgers lose

The Wisconsin football team fell out of the national rankings after their Homecoming loss to Michigan State. The Badgers were 25th in both the BCS standings and the USA Today coaches poll last week.

The three-point overtime loss dropped the Badgers to 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten Conference. Wisconsin is on a bye week and will play at Indiana on Nov. 10.

UW-Whitewater falls again

UW-Whitewater dropped out of the Top 25 in the D3Football.com poll after losing its second straight game on Saturday.

The three-time defending champion Warhawks fell at Stevens Point, 17- 14.

Whitewater has back to back losses for the first time in 11 years. They're now six spots out of the Top 25.

The Warhawks are at risk of being the first defending champ to miss the Division III playoffs since St. John's of Minnesota in 2004.

Meanwhile, UW-Oshkosh remains at No. 6 in the new D3 poll. The 8-0 Titans kept rolling with a 41-to-7 pounding of La Crosse.

Platteville rose three places to 15th. The Pioneers improved to 6-2 with a 24-17 win over Eau Claire on Saturday.

Mount Union still leads the poll at 8-0.

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