Romeo Doubs returned from a one-game suspension and caught two of Jordan Love’s four touchdown passes in the Green Bay Packers’ 34-13 victory over the mistake-prone Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
Doubs scored his first two touchdowns of the season — a 10-yard score to open the second quarter and a 20-yard reception in the third quarter. Doubs, who caught three passes for 49 yards, missed the Packers’ 24-19 win over the Los Angeles Rams for conduct detrimental to the team after missing two practices.
Love also threw touchdown passes of 5 yards to Jayden Reed and 44 yards to Christian Watson while going 22 of 32 — completing throws to nine players — for 258 yards with one interception. His four touchdown passes matched a career high.
The Packers (4-2) capitalized on the Cardinals’ uncharacteristic lack of discipline. The Cardinals had been averaging a league-low 3.8 penalties per game, but they were penalized 13 times for 100 yards Sunday. They also committed three turnovers.
Arizona (2-4) also lost several players to injuries, the most notable coming when rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. left with a concussion in the second quarter after his head hit the thigh of Packers linebacker Isaiah McDuffie on an incompletion.
Love threw three touchdown passes in the first 25½ minutes of the game as the Packers took a 24-0 lead. The Cardinals got back into it by scoring 13 straight points – 10 in the final two minutes of the first half and a field goal on the opening drive of the second half.
But the Cardinals wouldn’t score again as Green Bay pulled away.
Arizona's Kyler Murray went 22 of 32 yards for 214 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown to Michael Wilson. Arizona's James Conner gained just 24 yards on seven carries as the Packers outrushed the Cardinals 179-89.
After the teams exchanged punts to start the game, the Packers scored three touchdowns and a field goal on their next four series to take command.
Even when it appeared the Cardinals were finally gaining some momentum in the second quarter, a turn of events enabled Green Bay to extend its lead.
Offsetting penalties wiped out a muffed punt by Reed that would have given Arizona the ball at Green Bay’s 23-yard line with the Cardinals trailing 17-0. Arizona punted again, and this time Keisean Nixon returned it 39 yards.
On the next play, Love and Watson made it 24-0 with 4½ minutes left in the first half.
Arizona started its comeback attempt when Murray found Wilson in the end zone with 1:56 left in the first half. After intended receiver Bo Melton fell on a route and Sean Murphy-Bunting picked off Love at Green Bay’s 44, Arizona’s Chad Ryland made a 38-yard field goal just before halftime.
The Cardinals got the ball to start the second half and Ryland's 40-yarder made it 24-13. Ryland was kicking in place of Matt Prater, who missed a second straight game with a knee injury.
Arizona fell apart from there.
Green Bay extended the lead on its ensuing series as Love threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Doubs to cap a drive that included two holding penalties on Murphy-Bunting. One of those penalties nullified a third-down stop that would have forced Green Bay into fourth-and-3 from the Arizona 33.
The Cardinals then fumbled the ball away on each of their next three series.
Injuries
Cardinals: LB Kyzir White (knee), DT Bilal Nichols (stinger), S Joey Blount (hamstring), LG Evan Brown (ankle) and Murphy-Bunting (neck) all were injured, along with Harrison.
Packers: WR Dontayvion Wicks left with a shoulder injury in the first half. C Josh Myers left in the second half.
Up next
Cardinals: Host the Los Angeles Chargers on Oct. 21.
Packers: Host the Houston Texans next Sunday. ___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
