Aaron Rodgers Becomes 2nd QB with 6 Touchdown Passes in 1st Half

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers had a night for the ages in Sunday's 55-14 romp over the Chicago Bears, becoming just the second player ever to throw six touchdown passes in the first half of a game, per Rich Eisen of NFL Network.

In a performance that likely moved his name near the top of the MVP conversation with Andrew Luck and Peyton Manning, Rodgers ultimately completed 18 of his 27 pass attempts for 315 yards and the six touchdowns.

He likely could have broken the single-game record of seven touchdown passes, but the Packers opted to ease up in the second half after taking a 42-0 lead into the break.

Building that lead was no small feat, as Green Bay came close to playing a perfect half with six touchdowns on seven possessions in addition to keeping Chicago off the board. The only thing preventing the perfect half was a lost fumble by wide receiver Randall Cobb deep in Bears territory.

Each of the Packers' other six first-half drives ended with a Rodgers touchdown pass, highlighted by a 73-yard scoring toss to wide receiver Jordy Nelson.

However, the near-perfect first half required some early drama, with Rodgers completing a one-yard touchdown pass to tight end Brandon Bostick on a 4th-and-goal on Green Bay's opening drive.

The second drive ended with a four-yard touchdown to Andrew Quarless, followed by touchdowns of 73 and 40 yards to Nelson on the third and fourth drives. Possession No. 5 culminated with a 56-yard touchdown pass to running back Eddie Lacy on a screen play, but drive No. 6 was stopped short by Cobb's fumble.

Naturally, Cobb atoned for his mistake on Green Bay's seventh and final drive of the half, making a diving, 18-yard catch in the end zone with just 14 seconds remaining.

Rodgers' historic first-half performance was thus complete, as he joined Daryle Lamonica of the 1969 Oakland Raiders as the only players to toss six touchdowns before halftime of a game. Lamonica also finished his record-setting game with just the six touchdowns, with his Raiders similarly taking it a bit easy in the second half of an ugly blowout.