BUFFALO, New York (Ticker) -- Rob Johnson may have played hurt, but he ended up hurting the Green Bay Packers.
Johnson threw three touchdown passes, two to tight end Jay Riemersma, as the Buffalo Bills posted a 27-18 victory over the Green Bay Packers.
The Bills are off to their first 2-0 start since 1996.
"We had another all-around effort and played well in a lot of areas," Buffalo coach Wade Phillips said. "Certainly well enough to win."
After leaving last week's opener with a left foot injury, a valiant Johnson withstood five sacks for the second straight week by completing 18-of-26 passes for 259 yards. He also tied for the team lead in rushing with 31 yards on seven carries.
Brett Favre, also playing hurt with elbow tendinitis and a thumb injury, rebounded from last week's poor performance by completing his first 14 passes and finishing 25-of-35 for 269 yards and two touchdowns. He moved past Jim Kelly for 13th on the all-time list with 237 career touchdown passes.
"I'm physically and mentally exhausted, and it will take a day or two to figure out what else is wrong," Favre said. "If you win a ballgame like this, it kind of makes the aches and pains fell better. But when you lose, it seems like they're twice as bad."
Antonio Freeman caught two touchdown passes for the Packers, who played without injured running back Dorsey Levens and were held to 40 yards rushing.
Green Bay, which fell to 0-4 lifetime in Buffalo, has started off 0-2 for the first time since 1992.
"No one part of our team lost this football game," Green Bay coach Mike Sherman said. "Everybody had their hand in it."
After a scoreless first quarter, the Bills grabbed a 7-0 lead late in the second quarter as Johnson completed 5-of-6 passes for 53 yards, capped by a six-yard scoring pass to Jeremy McDaniel with 44 seconds remaining.
On the ensuing drive, Favre was sacked by defensive end Marcellus Wiley at the Buffalo 42 and fumbled. Defensive end Phil Hansen made the recovery and returned it 29 yards to the Green Bay 27.
Two plays later, Steve Christie kicked a 45-yard field goal on the last play of the first half to extend Buffalo's lead to 10-0.
"Our defense was tremendous again and made a big difference in the ballgame," Phillips said. "I thought that the 10 points right before the half really made a big difference in the ballgame."
The Bills went 65 yards on five plays to open the second half, with Johnson completing three straight passes, the last from six yards to Riemersma which allowed the Bills to build a 17-0 lead three minutes into the third quarter.
Green Bay came right back as Favre completed all six passes for 75 yards in an 80-yard drive which ended with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Freeman.
Buffalo capitalized on a fumble by Allen Rossum off a punt as lineman Ethan Albright recovered and ran to the Green Bay 4. Four plays later, Christie booted a 20-yard field goal to give the Bills a 20-7 advantage.
Johnson's streak of 123 straight passes without an interception ended when defensive end Vonnie Holliday picked him off at the Buffalo 16 with 1:20 left in the third quarter. The turnover led to a 24-yard field goal by Ryan Longwell with 40 seconds left.
Chris Watson returned the ensuing kickoff 37 yards to the Buffalo 47. Johnson kept the drive alive with a 14-yard pass to Eric Moulds on 3rd-and-9 to the Green Bay 26.
After a pass interference penalty on defensive back Tod McBride allowed Buffalo to move to the 14, Johnson threw his third touchdown pass of the game and second to Riemersma on the next play as the Bills took a commanding 27-10 lead with 11:45 left in the fourth quarter.
"We tried some different things," Buffalo wide receiver Eric Moulds said. "We're working on new plays and constantly checking over what works. If something doesn't work, we're going to move on and find something that does. Lots of things worked today."
Moulds had eight catches for 103 yards, the eighth 100-yard game of his career. Riemersma added four receptions for 70 yards. The Bills outgained the Packers, 309-274.
Green Bay right tackle Earl Dotson, who played the entire 1999 season with a herniated disc in his back, was carted off in the first half with a back injury.
