MILWAUKEE – Romeo Doubs wanted to make amends after serving a one-game suspension for what the Green Bay Packers described as conduct detrimental to the team.
Doubs responded by catching two of Jordan Love's four touchdown passes in the Packers' 34-13 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
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Doubs' first two touchdowns of the season included a 10-yard score to open the second quarter and a 20-yard reception in the third quarter.
“I was able to get back to my regular self, you know?” Doubs said.
Doubs was suspended from the Packers’ 24-19 win over the Los Angeles Rams last week after missing two practices. A regretful Doubs didn’t go into specifics Friday about the reasons for his absences, but acknowledged he had to communicate better.
“I’m just ready to be a ballplayer, try to move past whatever has happened and just get back to our winning culture like Green Bay has always been,” said Doubs who had three receptions for 49 yards.
How much Doubs' return meant to the Packers (4-2) was obvious as soon as he scored his first touchdown.
On a third-and-5 pass from the 10, Doubs caught a pass near the right sideline at about the 3. As Arizona cornerback Garrett Williams tried grabbing his jersey, Doubs dived into the end zone with his arms outstretched.
Doubs then was hugged first by wideout Christian Watson, who was closest to the play, and later by multiple other receivers as well as Love.
“We're a family,” Love said. “We're in this thing all together. So just staying together, keeping that brotherhood is definitely very important to us.”
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.
“We talked about coming into this game just playing four quarters of complementary football, and thought that was about as good as we could’ve done it,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “There’s always stuff that we can clean up, but I thought all in all, just the effort from start to finish, the focus from start to finish, was exactly what is a great formula for winning football.”
Arizona (2-4) played losing football while showing an 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.
“We play like that, we won’t beat anybody,” Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray said. "We can’t shoot ourselves in the foot against a good team.”
Arizona 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 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.
“We can’t play in a hole like that versus really good teams," Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon said. “It’s just too hard to overcome.”
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's deep ball to Watson made it 24-0 with 4½ minutes left in the first half. Watson was back after missing the Rams game with an ankle injury.
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.
Ryland added a 40-yarder to make it 24-13 early in the third quarter. Ryland was kicking in place of Matt Prater, who missed a second straight game with a knee injury.
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. The Cardinals then lost fumbles on 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