The Green Bay Packers got the victory but it was far from pretty as Aaron Rodgers had a poor night and the quarterback admitted that "way of winning is not sustainable".
The Packers won 27-24 in over-time against the New England Patriots, who were fielding a third-string rookie quarterback in Bailey Zappe for the majority of the game.
Green Bay trailed 10-7 at the long break after Rodgers had the lowest passer rating (11.2) of any half in any game he has started throughout his career, including a pick-six right on half-time. That was only the fourth pick-six of Rodgers' career and second at Lambeau Field.
Eventually, Rodgers got the Packers off the hook, driving them down the field in over-time to set up Mason Crosby's 31-yard game-winning field goal.
Rodgers finished the game with a completion rate of 60 per cent on 21-of-35 passing for 251 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
"This way of winning, I don't think is sustainable because it puts too much pressure on our defense," Rodgers told reporters. "Obviously, I've got to play better and will play better.
"I think we're going to have to play a little bit better against starting quarterbacks and if our defense isn't playing as well as they can."
On his poor first-half, Rodgers added: "I settled in and usually don't have two terrible halves, so I kind of returned to the form I expect from myself, and we started moving the football."
The win means the Packers improve to a 3-1 record, with running back Aaron Jones playing a key role with 110 rushing yards on 16 carries.
Green Bay may have wrapped up the win in regulation time when Rodgers found Romeo Doubs with a 40-yard pass in the endzone with 2:02 remaining, but the rookie wide receiver clearly did not secure the catch.
Despite that, Packers head coach Matt LeFleur threw the red flag to challenge what he thought was a touchdown, costing his side a timeout that would have helped his side win in regulation time.
"I'm not too proud of that moment," LaFleur said. "That was an emotional decision, and I think it's a great learning lesson that you can never make those emotional decisions in the heat of battle.
"You know better. You've got to survive the ground. [Packers assistant quarterbacks coach] Connor Lewis was in my ear, he's up in the box and he's in my ear, and he said, 'I don't think so.' And he said that we shouldn't challenge it.
"Just made an emotional decision, and it was almost like throwing a Hail Mary. That could have came back and bit us in the butt."
The Packers next face the New York Giants (3-1) in London on Sunday.
Eagles lock up wide receiver Smith through 2028
The Philadelphia Eagles locked up wide receiver DeVonta Smith through the 2028 season on Monday.
Philadelphia exercised its fifth-year option on Smith for the 2025 season and agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension that runs through 2028.
Smith’s extension is reportedly worth $75million, including $51million in guaranteed money.
Philadelphia selected Smith with the 10th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft after he won the Heisman Trophy with Alabama in 2020.
Smith was the first wide receiver to win the Heisman since Desmond Howard in 1991 and first non-quarterback or running back to capture the honour since cornerback Charles Woodson in 1997.
Smith has caught 240 passes for 3,178 yards and 19 touchdowns in 50 regular-season games while adding 27 receptions for 405 yards and a TD catch in five postseason contests.
OJ Simpson: Cherished star whose fall from grace was seen live by millions on TV
From cherished American superstar to villain whose murder trial captivated a global audience, OJ Simpson’s fall from grace was startling.
Simpson, nicknamed ‘The Juice’, has died at the age of 76 after losing his battle with prostate cancer, leaving behind four children.
Before the low-speed car chase by police and ‘Trial of the Century’ that began the unravelling of his reputation, Simpson was a darling of American sport who had also carved out a successful acting career.
He was raised in a low income neighbourhood in San Francisco and joined a local gang but his athleticism offered a route out and he found his purpose in gridiron.
A prolific running back, he starred for USC and in 1968 won the Heisman Trophy awarded to the outstanding player in college football. Inevitably, he was first overall draught pick the following year.
Progress in his first couple of seasons at the Buffalo Bills was slow but his impact grew and he went on to become one of the most successful operators in his position, winning the NFL’s most valuable player in 1973 and being inducted into the hall of fame in 1985.
He became the game’s highest paid player and lucrative commercial deals also followed as companies looked to leverage his charisma and popularity, while his acting career included parts in blockbusters ‘Towering Inferno’ and ‘The Naked Gun’.
For all his film presence he was little known outside the United States but that changed for all the wrong reasons when he was arrested in 1994 for the murder of his former wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman.
Brown and Goldman had been found stabbed to death in LA and once police had filed charges, Simpson refused to turn himself in and was pursued in an extraordinary car chase that was at low speed because he had a gun pointed to his head.
The event was televised live to millions and projected his notoriety worldwide, with the broadcasting of his subsequent murder trial only intensifying interest in this fallen star.
He was acquitted the following year but a civil lawsuit found him liable for the deaths, resulting in an order to pay £26.7million pounds to the victims of the families. Only a fraction of that amount was actually paid.
Arrests followed for a variety of offences in the early 2000s and his lowest point eventually came in 2007 when he was charged with armed robbery and kidnapping.
He served nine of a 33-year jail sentence and upon his release he continued to live in Las Vegas, looking increasingly frail when in public but active on social media. Simpson always maintained his innocence of the murders.
OJ Simpson dies aged 76
OJ Simpson has died of cancer at the age of 76.
Simpson was a running back for the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers from 1969 to 1979, before being acquitted of murder in a trial in the mid-1990s.
News of Simpson’s death was announced by his children on his X account.
“On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer,” read a statement.
“He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace. -The Simpson Family”
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