Packers vs. Seahawks: A Tale of Two Quarterbacks

The Green Bay Packers vs. Seattle Seahawks featured the two quarterbacks with the highest passer ratings in NFL history: Aaron Rodgers now has a 103.8 career rating, while Russell Wilson trails him at 99.0. For this one game, however, Rodgers rated a 150.8, while Wilson was at 43.7 – astounding!

In 2016, Rodgers has steadily been trending up – his 101.1 rating has him in fourth place, while Wilson continues to have a down year – his 88.1 rating has him in 21st place. Atlanta’s Matt Ryan (113.2) took the lead this week over New England’s Tom Brady (113.1). There is a big drop off to third place, which belongs to the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott (102.7).

How did Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson come to have such an awful outing on Sunday? Relentless pressure by the Packers’ defensive linemen and linebackers played a big role. Datone Jones led the charge with five QB hits. Jayrone Elliott, Mike Daniels, Dean Lowry, and Clay Matthews contributed one QB hit each, and Elliott, Jones, and Lowry each had a sack. While Jones was rated by Pro Football Focus as one of Green Bay’s top five defenders on Sunday, topping that list was Mike Daniels, who disrupted the Seahawks’ passing attack throughout the game.

On the year, the Packers are averaging 5.5 QB hits per game. Sunday’s total of nine was the second highest mark of the season.

The Packers applied strong pressure without resorting to a lot of blitzing, which allowed the Packers to drop more players back into pass coverage.

By comparison, Rodgers suffered three QB hits and only one sack. He said after the game he hurt his right calf early on – not from a hit, but by overcompensating for his left hamstring injury of 13 days before. He added, however, that it would not cause him to miss any games.