Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers ranks alongside the likes of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady when discussing the best in the league. He has certainly regained his elite form in 2016. The Packers are currently at 8-6 and Rodgers has almost single-handedly managed to drag Green Bay back into the playoff battle after a 4-6 start.
Mike McCarthy’s men last missed out on the postseason in 2008 and that looked like a distinct possibility this year. However, with two games to go, the Packers can still finish atop the NFC North. All they have to do is win out.
Much of the credit goes to Rodgers. After a slow start, he has enjoyed a solid year, especially when you consider Green Bay’s injuries and struggles with the running game this season. The Packers star was voted into the Pro Bowl for the sixth time this year and has a chance to win his third league MVP.
Rodgers has recorded eight games this season with multiple touchdown passes and no interceptions. Pro Football Focus currently has Rodgers graded out as the fourth-best quarterback. That’s miraculous considering he was one of the worst-graded quarterbacks early in the season.
Highest-graded NFL QBs this season
1. Tom Brady, 96.4
2. Andrew Luck, 91.8
3. Matt Ryan, 90.8
4. Aaron Rodgers, 89.7
5. Matt Stafford, 87.9 pic.twitter.com/AY2XScccLK— PFF (@PFF) December 20, 2016
Rodgers has thrown 32 touchdown passes this year, second only to New Orleans star Drew Brees’ 34. In addition, he’s sixth in passing yards with 3,781 and fifth in quarterback rating (100.3).
To say Rodgers has carried the Packers’ offense or late would be an understatement. He certainly has been one of the primary reasons the team is currently on a four-game win streak and that they even have a shot at another NFC North crown.
Per usual, oddsmakers still love the Packers chances. They are priced at 20/21 at bet365 to win the division.
With the way Rodgers has been playing, would it be a surprise to anyone if they did indeed pull off that feat?
Ultimately, the Packers can eliminate the Minnesota Vikings from playoff contention with a victory over their rivals at Lambeau Field on Christmas Eve. Another success, which would be their sixth in a row, against the Detroit Lions in week 17 would cement their standing at the top of the NFC North.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxiHIyIIHOA
If the Packers remain in their current form in the coming weeks, Green Bay will finish 10-6 and a earn home playoff game against one of the wild card teams.
Write the Packers and Rodgers off at your peril, Green Bay are serious contenders with No. 12 playing at an elite standard…
Dude, that’s a nice article, but are you sure you’re at the right website?
Lol, He’s a New Yorker….
They are contenders if their defense is merely average. Which it isnt.
They are going to have to keep playing great offense and then live and die by the turnover. They’ve been getting a lot lately, but time will tell if that continues.
Get rid of Matthews and Perry, and bring in some young blood, and their defense could improve.
Rodgers deserves all the credit he receives. The group that does not get enough credit is the offensive line. The way the defense is playing the team needs Rodgers to be firing on all cylinders to get anywhere, but let’s not forget the team would have a much bumpier and slower ride if the offensive line had some flat tires. If you want to see a couple of offenses run with four flat tires and a flat spare look at the Vikings or Seattle.
It’s like that every year. Without Rodgers this team is worse than the Browns, and the coaching staff and management would have been gone long ago.
Man is that true….Put the QB coaching God with the Browns or Texans or Jaguars and see if he succeeds. It’s not just mechanics…the teams with the better players win the games and save coaches jobs. Just ask Jeff Fisher. Bring him to GB and he is a winner/genius. However a good coach makes the difference between winning championships and winning the regular season. I want GB to fire McCarthy and get Bill O’Brien here, that guy is a real coach. 8-6 just like GB with Brock Osweiler at QB…until last week. Put Rodgers on the Texans and see what happens. They’d be 12-2 right now.
https://www.google.com/amp/www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/ct-vikings-plane-slides-off-runway-20161224-story,amp.html
Hmmmm, brings to mind all kinds of theories….
Go Pack
“Playoff push comes down to Aaron Rodgers” No it doesn’t. It comes down to all the players being a team and playing as a team. And when the starters are hurt and can’t play (i.e. Clay Matthews), then the backups need to step up and earn their place. The coaches can only do so much in leading the team, but on game day it comes down to all of the players pulling together, putting egos aside, and putting talent up front, and just win.
“Playoff push comes down to Aaron Rodgers” No it doesn’t.
Except of course in 2013.
The Packers playoff push has always had everything to do with Aaron Rodgers, including this season.