The Packers were about flawless offensively in their Thursday night opener, beating New Orleans 42-34. Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns. And rookie Randall Cobb was electric. Cobb, a second-round draft pick out of Kentucky, caught a touchdown from Rodgers and ran a kickoff back 108 yards for a score in the third quarter — tying an NFL record for the longest kickoff return in history. Still that defense was shredded by Saints QB Drew Brees.

And speaking of shredded, that’s what Panthers rookie Cam Newton did to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1. Carolina lost 28-21, but Newton was 24-for-37 for 422 yards with two TDs and a pick – that’s the most yards any rookie QB has ever thrown for. Steve Smith caught eight of those passes for 178 yards and both scores.

The previous record for passing yards in a player’s NFL debut was 346 by Otto Graham for the Cleveland Browns in 1950. In fact, only five other players even had a 300-yard passing game in their NFL debuts, most recently done by Ryan Fitzpatrick for the St. Louis Rams in 2005. Hall of Famers Terry Bradshaw, Jim Kelly, Bart Starr and Fran Tarkenton never threw for that many yards in a single game in their NFL careers as Newton did. Tom Brady hadn't either before torching the Dolphins on Monday night.

This is the first matchup between Green Bay and Carolina since 2008 but the 11th meeting in the past 15 years between the clubs. The Pack are 4-2 all-time at Carolina. The Packers are 5-0 in their first road game of the season under Coach Mike McCarthy, the only team in the league to have a five-game winning streak in opening road contests.

Get the best NFL team and player props all season at the Web’s gaming leader!