Aaron Rodgers, Packers pick apart reeling Rams in battle of NFC powers

GREEN BAY – It was textbook, don’t-sweat-it football for the Green Bay Packers.

Sizzling throws from Aaron Rodgers? Check.

A barrage of big defensive plays? Check.

Special teams highlights? Check that, too.

The Packers thumped the Los Angeles Rams, 36-28, at Lambeau Field on Sunday in a matchup of playoff contenders that one team had better hope wasn’t a preview of what could happen if they meet again in January.

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While Green Bay (9-3) rolled with another 300-yard game and 2 TD passes from Rodgers, who also ran for a score, the Rams (7-4) lost for the third consecutive game.

Credit Los Angeles for refusing to quit. The Rams got back into striking range early in the fourth quarter with Matthew Stafford’s 54-yard pass to Odell Beckham Jr. – the wide receiver's first TD of the season – followed by a two-point conversion. But much of the damage was done by then.

Stafford threw a pick-six to Rasul Douglas late in the third quarter, which followed a fumbled punt by the Rams’ J.J. Koski, recovered by Krys Barnes, that set up one of Mason Crosby’s three field goals.

The Packers rolled with a diverse cast of contributors. Davante Adams caught 8 passes for 104 yards. Randall Cobb had 4 receptions for 95 yards and a TD in the first half (before being sidelined for the second half with a groin injury). AJ Dillon rushed for 69 yards in addition to his 21 yards on 5 receptions, with a touchdown. Rashan Gary forced a Stafford fumble, too, recovered by Preston Smith, which led to the game’s first TD, a 1-yard scamper around right end by Rodgers.

Turns out, the Packers had quite the party – on an evening when recently-minted Pro Football Hall of Famer Charles Woodson was inducted into the franchise’s Ring of Honor – at the Rams expense.

Follow USA TODAY Sports' Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell.