Aaron Rodgers Refuses to cool down Against top-ranked Seattle Defense

Not even below-freezing Green Bay temperatures would be enough to slow Aaron Rodgers down on Sunday. 

Had it not been the weather, you would think Seattle's first-ranked defense in terms of points allowed per game would be Rodgers' kryptonite. Especially since the Packers were 1-3 in both regular season and post-season play against the Seahawks since 2012 — specifically when the "Legion of Boom" was formed.

Thanks to the consistent pressure provided throughout the course of the game by a one-armed Clay Matthews, a freak of nature in Mike Daniels and Datone Jones, who quietly turned in a superb outing, the Packers' struggling secondary was able to register five interceptions. Tack on a fumble recovery from rookie undrafted safety Kentrell Brice, a well-oiled offensive machine and you have a 38-10 stomping provided by the Packers. A statement win that couldn't have come at a better time for a team clinging to their playoff lives.

Rodgers, meanwhile, was hindered by another calf injury suffered on the third play of the game — his 66-yard throw on the run to Davante Adams who proceeded to get the best of Seattle cornerback Jeremy Lane en route to a touchdown. It was the second time in Rodgers' career that he threw a touchdown pass in the process of suffering an injury. (See week 17, 2014 vs DET)

Aaron Rodgers slings a 4-yard touchdown pass, injuring his calf on the play against the Lions. December 29, 2014

While Rodgers' mobility was limited on Sunday, he wasn't to be contained. He completed 78.26 percent of his passes and ended the first half on Sunday with a perfect passer rating of 158.3. Despite being pulled early in the fourth quarter while the Packers were nursing a 25-point lead, Rodgers had as many incompletions on Sunday as Seahawks' quarterback Russell Wilson had interceptions.

The last four times the Seahawks have come to Lambeau Field, the Packers have outscored them 155 to 57, including a 48-10 whipping administered in December 2009 that helped the Packers clinch a playoff spot. A final score reminiscent to the Green Bay victory seen yesterday.

His hot streak didn't just illuminate against Seattle, however. Aaron Rodgers has been on a tear since week 7, arguably playing his best football in years. 

He has completed nearly 69 percent of his pass attempts, thrown for 22 touchdowns to just three interceptions. He has also put together an 111.7 passer rating. Unfortunately, the Packers collectively have gone 4-4 through that eight-game stretch, just recently putting three of those four wins in their back pocket at the end of November to now.

To dive deeper into the analytics, Rodgers has accumulated a 122.8 passer rating through his last four games where the Packers have gone 3-1. A number that is higher than that of his 2011 MVP campaign, and a further testament to the notion that Rodgers just might be playing his best football at a time where the Packers need their star quarterback the most.

On the season, Rodgers has five games with three-or-more touchdowns and no interceptions — his most since his second MVP season in 2014 where he recorded eight. A lot of his stellar play this season can be attributed to the return of Jordy Nelson, who has seemingly proven to elevate the level of performance and excellence expected by the Packers' receiving corps.

Nelson has at least one touchdown in 10 of 13 games this season. He's currently the NFL's lone leader in touchdown receptions with 12, and in the process, is putting together a rather strong case for the Comeback Player of the Year award handed out in February, the night before the Super Bowl.

At this rate, Nelson may not even be present at Wortham Theatre in Houston, Texas to accept his pending award. He may be with his teammates in a Houston hotel preparing for a Super Bowl appearance the next day. There's high hope and an evident buzz in the Packers' locker room that this team has the potential to go all the way, but the first step is being relevant in January. They'll need to win the remainder of their games and the Lions to lose to one of their two upcoming NFC East opponents on the road, setting up a week 17 clash for the NFC North title. 

The Packers are in prime position to make a run, and with the unworldly play of their quarterback, it's definitely possible. His biggest task moving into Chicago next week is staying upright, despite his confidence with saying he won't be missing any games. With such importance hanging in the balance, why would he?

__________________________

Zachary Jacobson is a staff writer/reporter for Cheesehead TV. He's the voice of The Leap on iTunes and can be heard on The Scoop KLGR 1490 AM every Saturday morning. He's also a contributor on the Pack-A-Day Podcast. He can be found on Twitter via @ZachAJacobson or contacted through email at [email protected].

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Comments (21)

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Finwiz's picture

December 12, 2016 at 11:39 am

Rodgers was perfectly on target with every single throw he made yesterday, including the in-completions. The throw-aways are assumed "on-target". I've never seen him better, matter of fact that was one of his best games ever. It makes one wonder what was bothering him earlier in the year that he was so off, compared to the performance yesterday?

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marpag1's picture

December 12, 2016 at 01:55 pm

It's nitpicky to your main point - ARod certainly did have a great game - but Rodgers WAS off target when he overthrew Davante Adams down the left sideline for what would probably have been another TD just before halftime.

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stockholder's picture

December 12, 2016 at 06:23 pm

Probably? Thats the biggest Assumption anyone could make. Adams does not have hands of Glue. Adams improvement has not been his hands. It's his play close to the LOS! Someone finally taught him a move, or two ,in starting his routes. He is opening my eyes with his YAC. But I would say he still has a long way to go to be a Packers TD machine. But the days of disappointment may be coming to an end.

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Finwiz's picture

December 13, 2016 at 01:14 pm

I tried to give him a moment of euphoric glory, and you burst the bubble.
Yes, that sideline toss was two yards over-thrown. That's the only one, and that's pretty damn good.

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RCPackerFan's picture

December 12, 2016 at 12:45 pm

Unfortunately Rodgers got hurt on the 3rd play of the game and they had to eliminate a lot of plays form the play sheet.

As good as the Seahawks defense was playing going into this game you would not have thought they would have given up 38 points. And that is with Rodgers playing hurt the whole game, and not playing much of the 4th quarter.

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SpudRapids's picture

December 12, 2016 at 12:53 pm

I know there is a lot of talk about the Cowboys rookies and Matt Ryan but if Rodgers keeps up on this torrent pace and they make the playoffs I don't see how he cannot get the MVP. If he is the only QB with 40+ TD's and single digit INT's it would be hard to not get him the MVP.

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cpabandit's picture

December 12, 2016 at 01:15 pm

No denying he is playing out of his mind putting up numbers that he has not seen in a few years. However, he is not at the MVP yet. Matt Ryan's numbers are better than Rodgers in QBR, total yards, percentage of completion, and a few others. Rodgers is slightly ahead in TDs and slightly better in INTs.

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dobber's picture

December 12, 2016 at 01:23 pm

Matt Ryan has a running game to lean on. Rodgers hasn't had that most of the year. Rodgers also accounts for something like all but 4 of the Packers offensive TDs this season.

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MarkinMadison's picture

December 12, 2016 at 12:57 pm

I wish this had been posted two weeks ago when there was all of this "trade Rodgers" talk going on here.

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stockholder's picture

December 12, 2016 at 06:36 pm

Give me 2 #1s and I'd trade him. He's earning his money now. And how much longer will he get along with MM. Let alone the age and injuries. Mm can get any QB to play in his system. The real talk is why you wanted MM gone. I said No. But every beat writer was after his tush. This team has grown up in 2 weeks.

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pacman's picture

December 12, 2016 at 10:13 pm

I tried but I can't dislike this more than once.

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Tundraboy's picture

December 13, 2016 at 11:48 am

I am and was emotional as anyone but trading Rodgers is never an option. If it is ever between him and MM, bye, bye MM.

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zoellner25's picture

December 12, 2016 at 01:37 pm

CLUTCH

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Point-Packer's picture

December 12, 2016 at 02:46 pm

I said the exact same thing during the 3rd quarter of the game.

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Mojo's picture

December 12, 2016 at 04:01 pm

Was thinking the same thing. His inability to take off is forcing him to get the ball out quicker on average, and mostly abandon the spin move followed by a dash to the boundary he was doing seemingly every series earlier this year.

If it's not a quick hitting play, It allows him to keep sight of his receivers and wait for their breaks to materialize. It showcases what he does better than most QB's - deliver an accurate, hard throw that is nearly impossible to defend if he's on the same page with the receiver.

What will hurt GB is when he passes up a fairly easy rushing first downs because he just can't go. Plus he's more of a sitting duck. Also, it appears the injuries are getting so bad he might not even be able to put any weight on his legs, even if he doesn't go horizontal so much. If they can just keep him propped-up, this new pocket ARod could slice and dice GB to the playoffs.

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LASVEGAS-TOM's picture

December 12, 2016 at 02:38 pm

COW, Disagree!!
LVT

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alaskan tundra's picture

December 12, 2016 at 03:37 pm

Rogers 66 yard strike came when he scrambled and broke contain.

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zoellner25's picture

December 12, 2016 at 04:30 pm

But every other pass after the 3rd play of the game came from the pocket

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Lphill's picture

December 12, 2016 at 07:44 pm

A report today from a NFL.com insider said the calf injury is minor nothing compared to his previous calf injury.

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Handsback's picture

December 13, 2016 at 08:22 am

We have to remember that this was the first game the Seahawks played w/o Earl Thomas. The Seahawks ran into a very hot QB and didn't gameplan their defense to account for Rodgers. I think the biggest surprise was how effective the Packer's defense was in the backfield.

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marpag1's picture

December 13, 2016 at 08:54 am

"The Seahawks didn't gameplan their defense to account for Rodgers" ... huh???

I can only assume you mean Richard Rodgers.

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