For much of the 2019 season, the Green Bay Packers didn’t need to rely on Aaron Rodgers to play the role of superhero to make up for fatal flaws, unlike past years.
In fact, the Packers’ future Hall of Fame quarterback showed times of possible regression this season, missing throws that we’ve come to expect to be routine for a player of his caliber, and Green Bay still managed a 13-3 regular-season record.
But against the Seattle Seahawks in Sunday night’s NFC Divisional Round playoff game, Rodgers put all doubts to rest, putting on a masterful display and reminding everyone to never count him out.
Rodgers and the Packers got off to a fast start on the game’s opening possession, as the offense marched down the field on an eight-play scoring drive to take a 7-0 lead with 10:37 remaining in the first quarter.
Rodgers completed 3-of-4 passes for 34 yards on Green Bay’s opening drive, capped off by a beautiful 20-yard touchdown throw to wide receiver Davante Adams just moments after Rodgers called an audible with less than 10 seconds remaining on the play clock.
“I think for me, seeing him (Rodgers) make those plays early, you think, ‘Yup, it’s going to be one of those games for him. He’s going to be seeing the blitz, finding the holes in the coverage, knowing the soft spots.’ When he’s doing that, good luck,” said David Bakhtiari, the Packers’ stalwart All-Pro left tackle.
By halftime, Rodgers had already completed 10-of-15 passes for 120 yards and a touchdown, including a 113.2 passer rating and a 21-3 Packers’ lead. He finished the game completing 16-of-27 passes for 243 yards, two touchdowns and a 113.7 passer rating as the Packers held on to win 28-23.
And while Rodgers’ final stat line may not seem overly impressive, it was his mental processing and ability in clutch moments that shined brightest.
Throughout much of the game, running back Aaron Jones had done a lot of damage on the ground, including two rushing touchdowns by the end of the first half. Give credit to Rodgers, too, who did an excellent job of checking in and out of plays at the line of scrimmage to put Jones and rushing attack in successful scenarios.
The biggest eye-opener surrounding Rodgers’ performance on Sunday, though, was the fact that he completed 9-of-11 passes for 121 yards, one touchdown and had a 155.8 passer rating on third-down, all en route to a season-high in third-down conversions (9) for the Packers.
If that wasn’t impressive enough, Rodgers was perfect on throws of 10 or more yards downfield, going 6-of-6 for 145 yards and two touchdowns.
“I felt good about my preparation and the performance. I felt really locked in from Wednesday on, and practiced well and felt good all day,” said Rodgers after the game. “I just felt like today was going to be one of these types of performances.”
It was Rodgers’ final two pass attempts that would mark his performance as great, however.
With 2:19 remaining in the game, the Packers were faced with 3rd-and-8 from their own 22. Rodgers threw a near-perfect arc that fell into Adams’ overstretched hands, in stride for a 32-yard gain.
But the game wasn’t clinched yet. Just three plays later, the Packers had to convert one final third-down if they were to march on to the NFC Championship for a rematch with the San Francisco 49ers. Rodgers did just that, completing a nine-yard pass to Jimmy Graham to seal the win.
The Packers may not have needed Rodgers to be a superhero for the majority of the 2019 season. But when their franchise leader was needed most, No. 12 came through on Sunday night, showing us why we should never count him out.