Breaking Down Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers Dominance vs. Bengals

The Green Bay Packers helped erase eight mostly pitiful preseason quarters Thursday night in Cincinnati, jumping out to a 17-6 halftime lead over the Bengals on the backs of quarterback Aaron Rodgers and a defense that looked much improved over its 2011 version. 

As expected, Rodgers did most of the heavy lifting for the Packers offense. 

Rodgers devastated Cincinnati's defense with his legs, scrambling for several big gains and buying time for his wide array of receiving threats. The Packers quarterback led all rushers with 52 yards on six carries. 

Twice in the first quarter, Rodgers broke out of the pocket and found the pylon for a score. 

The first touchdown scamper even came with a signature celebration to cap it off.

After completing three straight passes to get the Packers down to the Bengals' 12-yard line, Rodgers was flushed to his left but outran cornerback Nate Clements to the end zone. It was a surprising display of athleticism for a quarterback who was questioned throughout the draft process in 2005 over that very attribute. 

Rodgers then flashed the Paul Brown Stadium crowd the "Belt," his celebration made popular during the Packers' Super Bowl run in 2010 and his ensuing series of State Farm "Discount Double Check" commercials. 

Later in the first quarter, Rodgers again finished off an impressive drive by escaping the pocket to his right and finding the end zone. When the Bengals played two high safeties to stop Green Bay's pass-heavy offense, Rodgers was always willing to beat the defense with his legs. 

The passing numbers weren't Rodgers-pretty—just 12-of-22 for 154 yards and an ugly interception—but the Packers did score 17 first-half points and racked up over 250 yards of total offense during a dominant first 30 minutes of play. 

Newly signed running back Cedric Benson played a role in his Packers debut, carrying six times for 38 yards and making one catch for another 10. Despite inking a deal with the Packers less than two weeks ago, Benson looked confident in his reads and fresh in his legs. 

On a number of carries, Benson made a smart first cut and then absorbed the first hit to complete the run. While certainly a small sample size, Benson's debut was a breath of fresh air for an offense that has lacked a true running game for most of the last two seasons. 

If Benson can take advantage of the soft fronts he'll likely see on a week-to-week basis, the Packers offense may actually be more difficult to stop than the 2011 version that scored the second-most points in NFL history. 

Speaking of soft defensive fronts, the Packers' was anything but Thursday night. 

First-round rookie Nick Perry was active opposite Clay Matthews, and the defensive line continually made the pocket messy for Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton. 

On the Bengals' second offensive series, B.J. Raji and Matthews both collapsed the pocket and sacked Dalton on 3rd-and-8. The Packers applied pressure on most of the Bengals' third-down opportunities, and Cincinnati finished just 1-of-12 on the always-important down. 

In fact, of Dalton's 20 dropbacks Thursday night, the Packers either disrupted the pocket or hurried Dalton on at least 10 of them. 

Considering the Packers were dead last in sack rate and gave up more passing yards than any team in NFL history a year ago, the progress shown in the "dress rehearsal" Thursday was significant. 

Dalton, who was rattled for most of the night, finished just 5-of-17 for 40 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions. He was sacked twice. 

Midway through the third quarter, the Bengals still hadn't cracked 100 total yards—and that was with the starters playing well after halftime. 

For the Packers, Thursday night was the kind of dominant performance expected of a team coming off a season that saw 15 wins and one of the greatest single years ever by a quarterback. 

While Rodgers' dominance is never a surprise, the displays from Benson and the young defense were encouraging signs as the Packers prepare for their Sept. 9 opener against the San Francisco 49ers.