ST. LOUIS — Another week, another weapon emerges for the Green Bay Packers.
Wide receiver Randall Cobb continued his breakout second season Sunday at Edward Jones Dome.
Cobb scored two second-half touchdowns to help Green Bay pull away from scrappy St. Louis, leading to a 30-20 win that helped the Packers complete a stretch of three straight road games with a 2-1 record. He followed James Jones and Jordy Nelson as receivers with a multiple-TD performance in the past three games.
Cobb turned Rams rookie cornerback Janoris Jenkins around on a 5-yard touchdown reception with 8:04 remaining in the third quarter to make it 17-6, then flashed his pure speed on the game-clinching play with 3:06 left in the game.
On the Packers’ third down play at the St. Louis 39 with the Rams’ crowd in a frenzy, Cobb zipped by cornerback Trumaine Johnson down the right hashmark and hauled in Aaron Rodgers’ third scoring strike of the day.
It capped an eight-catch, 89-yard performance for Cobb, who also rushed once for 19 yards and nearly broke a punt return in the first half before settling for a 15-yard gain.
“You can put him in a variety of roles,” Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy said of Cobb. “You can play him at the 1, 2 or 3 receiving spots. We’ve started using him some in the backfield and everyone’s seen what he can do returning kicks.”
Cobb says he’s fortunate to be on a team which, despite missing starting wide receiver Greg Jennings (groin) again in this one, possesses several proven weapons around him.
“The coaches do a good job of putting us in positions where we can have the most impact,” Cobb said. “I do feel blessed to be in this situation and it means a lot to be able to come through for our team when they need me.”
Cobb was particularly deadly on the final touchdown drive. He moved the chains with an 11-yard gain on 2nd-and-10 from the Packers’ 20, then made Jo-Lonn Dunbar miss for an 8-yard advancement on a 3rd-and-7 play at the 34.
“They take what the defense gives you,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said of Green Bay, “but when they throw underneath and you have a chance to make a tackle and get off the field, you have to make that play. We weren’t able to do it often enough today.”
Rodgers absorbed three sacks and several other hard hits from St. Louis’ defensive line in the first half. He got much better protection in the second half. The reigning NFL Most Valuable Player finished 30-of-37 for 342 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson with 5:23 remaining in the first quarter.
After catching three touchdowns in last week’s 42-24 rout of then-unbeaten Houston, Nelson notched eight receptions for 122 yards against the Rams, often picking on Jenkins.
Green Bay (4-3) led just 10-6 at halftime but controlled play during the second half. Its injury-riddled defense only had to go on the field for six plays in the third quarter, holding the Rams (3-4) to negative-seven yards and also intercepting quarterback Sam Bradford to set up one of three Mason Crosby field goals.
Bradford hit on 21-of-34 passes for 255 yards and a garbage-time score to Austin Pettis, while veteran running back Steven Jackson added 57 yards and a touchdown on 12 attempts. Jackson’s 6-yard run up the middle with 8:50 left in the game drew St. Louis within 20-13, giving it hope that it could up its home record to 4-0.
But Cobb, Rodgers and the Packers’ boisterous traveling fan base made another dome feel like home.
“Two things we talked about at halftime were picking up tempo and finishing plays,” McCarthy said. “I don’t feel like we ran the ball well in the first half. I thought we did a better job of making clean plays after halftime and played with a better tempo.”
Notes: St. Louis started its third left tackle in the first seven weeks as Joe Barksdale replaced Wayne Hunter (back). Opening day starter Rodger Saffold sat out his fifth straight game with knee and back injuries … Three defensive starters — tackle B.J. Raji, linebacker Nick Perry and cornerback Sam Shields — joined Jennings on Green Bay’s inactive list. … Chris Givens’ 56-yard reception early in the fourth quarter marked the fourth straight game in which the Rams’ rookie wide receiver notched a catch of 50 yards or more.