Sports News - Robert Tonyan's three TD catches help Packers beat Falcons 30-16 to
| Packers NewsGREEN BAY - Any other offense, and the Green Bay Packers' thinned receiver position Monday night would have been a problem. The Packers were without their top two receivers Monday night against the Atlanta Falcons. They took the conservative approach with Davante Adams, resting the Pro Bowler before this week’s bye. With Allen Lazard out indefinitely after having surgery this week, the Packers' offense could have tanked. Perhaps a lesser offense would have. This Packers offense? Not a chance. The Packers used an all-hands-on-deck attack and made a household name out of tight end Robert Tonyan en route to a 30-16 win against the Falcons. The victory improved the Packers to 4-0 this season, one step further than their 3-0 start last season. Second-year coach Matt LaFleur is now 17-3 in the regular season. The Packers opened their season with four straight 30-point games for the first time in franchise history. It's the first time they've had four straight 30-point games since the last four games of the 2016 season. The Packers have scored 152 points through four games. Their explosive 2011 team had 148 in its first four games. And they are the only team in the league that has yet to commit a turnover. Aaron Rodgers completed 27 of 33 passes for 327 yards and four touchdowns. Rodgers is quickly finding a favorite target in Tonyan. Until this season, Tonyan has been a talented young player unable to reach his potential. He had 10 catches for 100 yards last season, his second after being undrafted out of Indiana State. Behind the scenes, Tonyan trained with good friend and San Francisco 49ers all-world tight end George Kittle the past couple offseasons. Kittle is still the game’s greatest player at his position, but Tonyan is becoming a standout early in his third season. He caught three touchdowns in the first three quarters, his third expanding the Packers’ lead to 27-9. Tonyan now has five touchdowns this season – as many as Jimmy Graham had in 32 games with the Packers – including at least one in each of the past three games. He’s becoming a major receiving threat – Tonyan is now tied with Tampa Bay star Mike Evans for the most touchdowns in the league – for a Packers offense that needs them with injuries atop the wideout depth chart. Jermichael Finley (2011) and Keith Jackson (1996) are the only other Packers tight ends with three touchdown catches in a game. The Packers have been searching for a star tight end since Finley’s career-ending neck injury in 2013, briefly finding one in Jared Cook before letting him get away after 2016. One game does not make a standout tight end, but Tonyan had the type of night that could be a springboard in a young player’s career. Early in Tonyan’s big night, the Packers used the depth of their backfield to pave the way. They opened with tailbacks Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams sharing the field for multiple snaps during a six-play, 73-yard touchdown drive that gave them a 7-0 lead.