The Sports Xchange

EARTH CITY, Mo. – Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers entered Sunday’s game with a streak of 580 pass attempts at home without an interception. That covered 19 games, including the postseason, and dated back to Dec. 2012.

It didn’t last long against the St. Louis Rams. With 4:07 remaining in the first quarter, a Rodgers pass was deflected by safety Mark Barron and caught just before it hit the ground by middle linebacker James Laurinaitis.

Just for good measure, cornerback Trumaine Johnson made a diving interception in the second quarter. Later in the game, defensive end Robert Quinn hit Rodgers’ arm from behind, forcing a fumble that was recovered by the Rams.

That made three turnovers by Rodgers, but the Rams weren’t able to capitalize.

Overall, Rodgers had, for him, an average day with an 82.8 passer rating and 241 yards passing on 19-for-30 passing. However, against a Rams defense that had been avoiding big plays in the passing game, Rodgers connected with wide receiver Ty Montgomery for a 31-yard touchdown and James Jones for a 65-yard score with most of the yards coming after the catch.

Aside from those plays, Rodgers’ other 17 completions totaled just 145 yards.

Said Johnson, who let Montgomery run free over the middle, “Those two explosive plays, that’s 14 points. Take those away, it’s a different outcome.”

As for the Montgomery touchdown, Johnson said, “Busted coverage. Technique error. I should’ve stayed inside. I let that get away from me. I take fully 100 percent of it. That was my man and I let him score.”

On the play to Jones, which was a quick slant, nickel back Lamarcus Joyner who played 53 of 62 snaps, said, “I tried to make a play on the ball. You’ve got a guy like Aaron Rodgers, who’s probably the No. 1 quarterback in this league. He made a tightrope throw, guy made a great catch, and there you go. Can’t make a mistake like that against a good team.”

–With linebacker Alec Ogletree out, safety Mark Barron ended up playing more than linebacker Akeem Ayers because the Rams were in the nickel so often against Rodgers. The Packers had 20 running plays, including one kneeldown, and 39 called pass plays, including seven scrambles by Rodgers.

Barron played 50 of the 62 snaps, while Ayers played just 20.

–Right guard Rodger Saffold suffered another shoulder injury early in the game. Saffold missed most of the preseason after injuring his right shoulder on the fourth snap of the first preseason game. He played 19 of 71 snaps against the Packers. The injury was to the same shoulder that affected him in the preseason, not the one on which he had surgery early in the offseason. Saffold was undergoing additional tests to determine whether surgery might be necessary.

–Defensive end Chris Long left the game in the second quarter because of a knee injury and did not return. Long played 15 of the team’s 62 snaps against the Packers. Head coach Jeff Fisher said Monday there was no ligament damage, which was good news because “last night we feared the worst.” Fisher described the injury as “technically a hyper-extension, but there’s some pain things he has to deal with over the next few weeks.”

–Running back Trey Watts was placed on waivers Monday as his exemption expired after returning last week from a four-game league suspension. Watts will be added to the practice squad once he clears waivers and could be back on the roster once the Rams decide what to do with Ogletree, who suffered a fractured fibula in Week 4 against Arizona. Ogletree will miss at least eight weeks, so the Rams are determining whether to place him on reserve/injured, designated for return while waiting to see if they need that designation for another player.