Packers find their groove, edge winless Saints

• Drew Brees tied Johnny Unitas' record by throwing a TD in his 47th consecutive game
• Aaron Rodgers threw for 319 yards and four TDs to lead the Packers to a bounce-back win
• Another call went against Green Bay, but this time it didn't cost them the game

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- It was a bit crazy.

But as surreal swings on a football field go, the Green Bay Packers know the twists and turns that occurred at Lambeau Field could have been much worse.

The Packers claimed a 28-27 victory on Sunday in a game when disaster struck as MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers left for one play, an apparent fumble couldn't be reversed because they were out of challenges, and they caught a break when a go-ahead Saints field goal was nullified by a penalty.

Whew.

It sure beat losing on the last play of the game on a bogus call by a replacement ref. That was last Monday night, when Green Bay was robbed of a victory at Seattle when a game-sealing interception was ruled a touchdown – on a call that led to the settlement of the lockout and the return of the regular game officials.

"I think a lot of the country, and ourselves, were wondering how we'd bounce back," linebacker Clay Matthews said. "It was a point of emphasis not to allow last week's missed call get in the way of what we were trying to accomplish."

Done. The Packers, now 2-2, got their groove back.

This was a statement that the Packers can battle through adversity. Like the 0-4 Saints, the Packers needed Sunday's game – called the Desperation Bowl -- to avoid an early-season hole that could haunt their playoff chances.

That resiliency was put to the test when Saints' Darren Sproles seemingly fumbled on fourth-quarter kickoff return. The fumble was forced and recovered by Dezman Moses -- as shown on the huge end zone video boards -- but there was nothing the Packers could do about it.

Referee Jeff Triplette ruled that Sproles was down before the ball popped loose, and coach Mike McCarthy already had burned his two challenges. The replay showed that the football popped out before Sproles landed on the turf, and there was no disputing that Moses came away with it as he paraded in the center of the field holding the ball aloft.

"I was in disbelief," Packers nose tackle B.J. Raji said. "Everyone immediately turns their attention to the Jumbotron, and we all saw the same thing. For the call to be what it was, is pretty crazy.

"I guess everyone deserves a pass. It's been a while since (the regular officials) have been here. So I'm not going to get on them too tough."

Six plays later, with the Saints facing fourth-and-2, adversity struck again. After officials flagged the Saints for delay of game, the officials explained -- to a chorus of boos from the crowd of 70,571 -- that the Saints actually had called a timeout.

Two minutes, two key breaks for the Saints.

"When you start having consecutive losses, you can't help but have that feeling of, 'Here we go again,' " Rodgers said. "Unfortunately, there was a little bit of that with some of the calls. But we were able to overcome it. I think it says a lot about the character of this team."

The Packers also overcame the one play Rodgers missed after getting poked in the eye -- and an ensuing sequence that resulted in an essential 14-point swing that provided the Saints with their only lead.

Rodgers was hurt as he scrambled, rolling right and then stutter-stepping when Malcolm Jenkins caught him through the facemask, which drew a penalty that set up a first-and-goal at the 2-yard line.

But the prime positioning proved there is no sure thing in the NFL. Graham Harrell, on his first career regular-season snap, fumbled the exchange.

"That could happen to anybody, including myself," Rodgers said. "He was trying to make a handoff while falling down, which is something I've done before."

Jenkins recovered the fumble, and four plays later, the Saints had a 24-21 lead when quarterback Drew Brees found Joseph Morgan for an 80-yard touchdown.

Such adversity can be overcome, however, when the Packers' offense rediscovers the type of magic that it had during last season's 15-1 regular season. Even with big-play receiver Greg Jennings knocked out by the aggravation of a groin injury, Rodgers and his receivers found the rhythm, precision and tempo that has been missing for much of the season.

The same could actually be said of Brees, in a sense. He passed for 446 yards and three TDs -- tying Johnny Unitas' 52-year-old NFL record by throwing for a score in a 47th consecutive game and climbing past Unitas and Warren Moon to sixth place on the NFL's all-time list for career TDs.

But Brees couldn't always deliver when in striking range (the Saints settled for field goals after advancing drives to the 2- and 9-yard lines). Rodgers, however, finished drives. His four TD passes came from 12 and 14 yards to James Jones, 9 yards to Jennings and 11 yards to Jordy Nelson, who scored what was the game-winning score with seven minutes remaining.

Rodgers completed 31 of 41 passes for 319 yards, with the four scores, offset by one interception. He posted his highest efficiency rating in a game this season, 119.9.

And just as significant, for the first time this season, Rodgers wasn't sacked. He had been sacked 16 times in the first three games, including the eight in the first half at Seattle.

"The offensive line took a lot of heat, obviously, for what happened in the first half last week, but counting the last three halves, zero sacks," Rodgers said. "So we're figuring something out."

McCarthy was on his game, too. His offense produced a season-high 421 yards and 30 first downs, most in a game by a Packers outfit since 1989. He gambled in the second quarter from his 17 and called for a fake punt on fourth-and-one -- converted when John Kuhn rumbled five yards off a direct snap -- to keep a season-longest 92-yard TD drive alive.

And the offense was spiced by a few other surprises, like a shovel pass to Randall Cobb that netted 17 yards to set up the final score.

The Packers played hungry, perfect to replace the bad taste lingering from Seattle.