Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers doesn’t get or accept a lot of criticism.
That needs to change.
Rodgers is not infallible and that was proven once again in Denver. When the Packers needed him to be at the top of his game against a great opponent with a great defense, he was a no-show. You know the numbers — 77 passing yards, 50 net passing yards, no touchdowns.
And what happens when Rodgers is a no-show against a great opponent? The Packers lose.
We’ve seen it over and over again and the statistics paint a very clear picture.
Over the past two seasons, Rodgers and the Packers have faced a top-five defense on the road five times. The Packers are 0-5 in those games and Rodgers has thrown for a combined 791 yards, three touchdowns and five interceptions.
In case you’re interested, the games were at Seattle, at Detroit, at Buffalo, at Seattle in the NFC Championship, and at Denver.
In all five of those games, Rodgers failed to throw for 200 yards. He didn’t throw for more than one touchdown in a single one, either.
So who’s to blame for those losses?
Well, if you ask Aaron Rodgers, it isn’t him.
During Rodgers’ post-game presser on Sunday, he mentioned two things multiple times. That his receivers can’t get open enough and that the Packers didn’t execute the plan they had in place.
Rewind to the NFC Championship game. What was Rodgers’ explanation then?
He didn’t like the play calling and felt the Packers weren’t aggressive enough.
There’s a pattern here, other than Rodgers playing like crap against top-tier defenses on the road. It’s that Rodgers rarely takes the blame.
He’s happy to point fingers, but rarely says, “That’s on me.”
The one time in those five games we mentioned that Rodgers did accept blame was after the loss to Buffalo.
Well, kind of anyway. Here’s what he said.
“It was just disappointing because I missed a few of them by more than I wanted to, but I felt good about the ball coming off,” he said. “It was just a little bit off. It was one of those days.
“As an offense we were a little out of sync, and then obviously it didn’t help some of the throws I made, but we had some opportunities. We had some opportunities to convert some third downs, to make some plays, and we didn’t do it. So we all look squarely in the mirror, and we’re very self-critical — myself as much as anybody.”
He didn’t exactly say, “We lost because I played poorly.” He did at least say he would look in the mirror, while speaking mostly in the “we.”
A whole lot of “we” there for a guy who was 17 of 42 for 185 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions and got outplayed by Neck Beard.
The NFC Championship game was another a prime example. While everyone else wanted to blame Mike McCarthy for not being more aggressive or lynch Brandon Bostick for being an idiot, we put the majority of the blame on Rodgers.
The Packers needed their best player not to go out and stink the joint up. If that would have happened — and it’s a reasonable expectation — then none of the other stuff would have mattered.
Instead, Rodgers threw for 178 yards, one touchdown and two picks and then complained about the play calling… until well into June.
Do you know what that is?
Colin Cowherd hits it on the head right here.
We understand that Aaron Rodgers is going to have some bad games here and there. It would be nice if they didn’t always come against top-notch opponents.
Regardless of who they come against, Rodgers needs to take responsibility when he plays poorly.
That’s what a leader does.
And we’re afraid the Packers aren’t going to be winning another Super Bowl if these questions about performance and leadership remain. In Green Bay, it isn’t your regular seasons statistics we care about.
It’s championships and we’re no longer sure Rodgers has the championship meddle.