As the Green Bay Packers prepare to play their first playoff game since 2016, quarterback Aaron Rodgers said he isn’t feeling “pressure” in the traditional sense, but he understands how unpredictable life in the NFL can be, and he’s damn sure he wants to make the most of the opportunity as the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs.
The Packers will host the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Divisional Round on Sunday. They are two wins away from playing in the Super Bowl, the game that helps define legacies. Rodgers admitted he thinks about playing in a second Super Bowl every single day.
“It’s on my mind every day,” Rodgers said Wednesday. “It’s why we play the game. It’s why you put in the time in the offseason. It’s why you do the little things. It’s to put yourself in this position where we’re two games away from being able to compete for that.”
The Packers won 13 games this season and will host a divisional round playoff game for the first time since 2014.
Rodgers, now 36, knows how special these opportunities can be. And rare. Only twice in his career has he started a home divisional round game (2014, 2011), and he’s never played in an NFC title game at Lambeau Field.
It’s also been almost nine full years since the Packers hoisted the Lombardi Trophy as champions of Super Bowl XLV.
Some might feel pressure while armed with an understanding of how limited opportunities to win another Super Bowl could be. For Rodgers, pressure comes not from anxiety about individual performance, but the responsibility of being ready and accountable to teammates and coaches.
True competitors, Rodgers says, are driven by the hatred of failure and the fear of letting teammates down.
The goal for Rodgers and the Packers has simplified. Win at home on Sunday, win again next weekend, and a magical first season under first-year coach Matt LaFleur will end with the Packers representing the NFC in Super Bowl LIV in Miami.
“I want to make the most of this opportunity,” Rodgers said.