Trey Smack drills three field goals, Will Sheppard catches 2-yard TD

Wes Hodkiewicz

DENVER Will Sheppard caught a 2-yard touchdown and Trey Smack made three field goals, including two from beyond 50 yards, to put the Packers up 23-10 over the Denver Broncos at halftime.

Packers and Broncos tied at 7 after first quarter

The Packers won the opening coin toss and elected to receive. Skyy Moore returned the opening kickoff 30 yards to the Packers' 37. Christian Watson caught a quick slant for 15 yards on second down to cross midfield.

Two MarShawn Lloyd runs gained five yards and Green Bay faced fourth-and-inches after a neutral zone infraction. Jordan Love connected with Matthew Golden over the middle on a playaction rollout for 20 yards to move the ball to the Denver 20.

Lloyd's 2-yard stretch run set up first-and-goal at the 10. Green Bay initially was pushed back 10 yards when Jacob Monk was flagged for holding on the next play, but Broncos linebacker Justin Strnad was then called for defensive pass interference to give Green Bay a fresh set of downs.

Green Bay went ahead 7-0 when Lloyd scored an 11-yard touchdown off a choice route from the backfield with 8 minutes, 25 seconds left in the first quarter. The 12-play, 63-yard scoring drive lasted 6:35.

Denver started at its own 35 after Trey Smack's kickoff landed in the end zone. Courtland Sutton laid out for a second-and-5 pass but couldn't get his feet down. Sean Payton unsuccessfully challenged the ruling and lost a timeout.

Bo Nix converted on third down with a 35-yard pass to Jaylin Waddle down the seam to the Green Bay 25. The Broncos struck again on third-and-6 when Nix floated in a 21-yard touchdown pass to R.J. Harvey to tie the game at 7 with 5:53 left in the first quarter.

Tyrod Taylor replaced Love on the second series. The Packers' starting quarterback completed 5-of-7 passes for 56 yards and the TD (134.5 passer rating).

Green Bay converted the initial first down with a Lloyd 7-yard run on second-and-7 but were forced to punt after Taylor's third-and-6 pass to Moore fell incomplete.

Packers lead Broncos 23-10 at halftime

The second quarter began with the Broncos facing third-and-18 after Kamal Hadden tackled Jonah Coleman for a 2-yard loss, one play after Nix fumbled the snap for a 5-yard loss.

Coleman gained five yards on a run to set up Will Lutz for a 53-yard field goal that put Denver up 10-7 with 14:07 left in the first half.

Pierre Strong found a hole up the middle and returned the ensuing kickoff 68 yards to the Denver 32. Green Bay was backed up 10 yards, though, after a holding call on Jager Burton on first down.

The Packers picked up nine yards on a slant to Moore before Trey Smack made a 51-yard field goal to tie the game at 10 with 12:04 left in the first half.

The kickoff was returned to the Green Bay 45 before Smack made the tackle, but the Broncos lost five yards on first down after Isaiah McDuffie broke through the line to bring down Jaleel McLaughlin.

The play set up a quick three-and-out for Denver. The Packers almost went three-and-out but a defensive pass interference penalty on Kris Abrams-Draine gave Green Bay a first down at the Broncos' 42.

The Packers moved across midfield after a 6-yard Moore end around and a 12-yard Strong run to the Denver 40. Broncos outside linebacker Que Robinson was called for roughing Taylor on third-and-3 for another first down.

A 7-yard slant to Bo Melton set up first-and-goal at the Denver 3. On third-and-goal, Taylor connected with Will Sheppard on an out for the 2-yard touchdown to put Green Bay ahead 17-10 with 3:07 left in the half.

Devon Key caught a 25-yard pass to get Denver going on its next possession. Benjamin St-Juste broke up a pass down the sideline on the next play. Denver turned the ball over on downs after Jarrett Stidham tried a deep ball on fourth-and-4 from the Green Bay 40.

Kyle McCord entered the game with 1:54 left in the half. Taylor went 4-of-8 for 17 yards and a TD. J. Michael Sturdivant caught an 8-yard pass but was slow to get up after the play.

Green Bay converted one first down before sending out Smack for a 59-yard field goal that extended Green Bay's lead to 20-10 with 50 seconds left in the half.

On the first play of the Broncos' next series, Packers safety Mark Perry picked off Stidham and returned the ball to the Denver 32.

After an 8-yard pass to Sheppard, Smack made a 43-yard field goal to send the Packers into halftime with a 23-10 lead.