Can Aaron Rodgers End More Than A Decade Of Playoff Duds?

This is the first story in a series examining Green Bay’s positional groups. Part 1 is on the quarterbacks. Next up will be the wide receivers.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers prides himself on being an NFL historian.

He watches old games, understands the past and knows his place in the long history of this great game.

Right now, Rodgers realizes his legacy is somewhat of a mixed bag.

Rodgers has compiled one big regular season after another, has four MVP’s on his résumé, and led the Packers to a win in the 45^th Super Bowl.

Since his Super Bowl victory nearly 12 years ago, though, Rodgers’ play in the postseason has ranged between mediocre and abysmal. And when it comes specifically to NFC Championship games, Rodgers is just 1-4 and he’s delivered five disappointing performances.

As Green Bay’s 2022 season draws near, Rodgers has a chance to enter the discussion of greatest quarterbacks in league history. The only way that will happen, though, is for Rodgers to win a second Super Bowl in Green Bay.

“Obviously I would love to win one. It’s been a long time,” Rodgers said during last year’s playoffs. “The Super Bowl is obviously a big part of the way that quarterbacks are judged and teams in general are judged.”

There are just 12 quarterbacks in NFL history with two Super Bowl championships, or more.

Tom Brady leads the way with seven, while Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana have four each. Troy Aikman won three Super Bowl titles, while Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, John Elway, Ben Roethlisberger, Bart Starr, Roger Staubach, Jim Plunkett and Bob Griese all have two.

There are another 21 quarterbacks that have won a single Super Bowl. Rodgers currently falls into category No. 2, in large part due to his own dreadful playoff performances.

While that list includes Hall of Famers such as Brett Favre, Steve Young, Kurt Warner and Joe Namath, it also includes more non-descript players such as Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson, Jeff Hostetler and Mark Rypien.

Rodgers has a chance to separate himself from many of those players by winning a second Super Bowl. Based on his recent postseason performances, though, betting on Rodgers would be risky business.

Rodgers is just 7-9 in playoff games since the Packers won the 45^th Super Bowl. Rodgers and the Packers were the NFC’s No. 1 seed in 2011, 2020 and 2021 — but lost home playoff games each of those seasons. And Rodgers is 0-4 in the playoffs against San Francisco — the team that snubbed him in the 2005 draft that he vowed revenge against.

Then there’s the dreadful story of NFC Championship Games.

Rodgers has played in five of those, has performed well below his standards in all five, and is just 1-4 in conference title games. That ties Rodgers with Ken Stabler and Donovan McNabb for the lowest winning percentage (.200) among quarterbacks with at least five trips to the conference championship game.

Even in his one win — the 2010 title game against Chicago — Rodgers had a brutal day. That afternoon, Rodgers threw a pair of interceptions, no touchdowns and finished with a passer rating of just 55.4 in a 21-14 win over the Bears. It was only due to the Packers’ defense that Rodgers and Green Bay advanced to the 45^th Super Bowl.

“We were just really out of sync,” left guard Josh Sitton said of the offense that day. “Thankfully, our defense stepped up and made sure we’re still playing.”

Rodgers knows that when historians look back at his career, few will care if he carved up the Lions in October or torched Minnesota in November. Legacies are made in the postseason, an area where Rodgers has fallen short for more than a decade.

Here’s a look at some of Rodgers’ playoff woes since leading Green Bay to the 2010 Super Bowl.

2011 Divisional playoffs

New York Giants 37, Green Bay 20

The Packers were 15-1 that season and the NFC’s No. 1 seed. A Super Bowl repeat seemed almost inevitable.

Instead, Rodgers had his lowest passer rating of the year (78.5), was outplayed by New York’s Eli Manning and the Packers’ dream season went up in smoke.

“No one’s going to remember the 15-1,” nose tackle B.J. Raji said after that game. “Now, all they’re going to talk about is the great letdown at home, in front of your home fans that love you and support you.”

2014 NFC Championship Game

Seattle 28, Green Bay 22 (O.T.)

The Packers led, 16-0, at halftime and 19-7 with just more than 2 minutes left. But anything and everything that could go wrong down the stretch did, and the top-seeded Seahawks rallied past second-seeded Green Bay.

What often gets lost in the Packers’ epic collapse was Rodgers’ substandard play throughout the game. Rodgers threw two interceptions, one touchdown and a had 55.8 passer rating.

Green Bay built its lead thanks to a defense that intercepted Russell Wilson four times and forced five total turnovers. Time and time again, the defense gave Rodgers and the offense the ball in terrific field position, but Green Bay managed just one touchdown all day.

“It’s a missed opportunity that I will probably think about the rest of my career,” Rodgers said afterwards.

2016 NFC Championship Game

Atlanta 44, Green Bay 21

The Falcons led, 24-0, at halftime when Rodgers had no touchdown passes, one interception and a 65.6 passer rating. Atlanta stretched its lead to 31-0 in the third quarter before Rodgers beefed up his numbers during garbage time of a 44-21 blowout.

“Unfortunately a game like this comes down to the little details,” Rodgers said. “If you’re not on and you’re making little mistakes like that, it’s going to be tough to win.”

2019 NFC Championship Game

San Francisco 37, Green Bay 20

Much like the Atlanta game in 2016, Rodgers was dreadful in the first half when he had two turnovers, a 52.4 passer rating and threw for just 65 yards. Not surprisingly, the Packers dug themselves a 27-0 hole.

Rodgers finished with two interceptions, fumbled three times and never gave his team a chance to win.

“We just didn’t play the game the right way,” wideout Davante Adams said.

2020 NFC Championship Game

Tampa Bay 31, Green Bay 26

Rodgers and the Packers started slow and fell behind, 28-10.

Then after Green Bay pulled within 31-23 with 2:15 left, Rodgers had a chance to run for touchdown from the 8-yard line that would have brought the Packers within a two-point conversion. He declined, though, and instead threw incomplete into double coverage.

Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur kicked a field goal on the next play and the Packers never got the ball back.

Rodgers had the best of his five NFC title games with three touchdown passes, one interception and a 101.6 passer rating. But his slow start and cowardly late-game decision are both huge blemishes on his record.

“I’m just pretty gutted,” Rodgers said afterwards.

2021 Divisional Playoffs

San Francisco 13, Green Bay 10

Rodgers led the Packers to a touchdown on their opening drive. Then on Green Bay’s next nine possessions, it managed just three points.

The Packers’ 10 points were their fewest in a postseason game since a 27-7 loss to Atlanta in the 2002 Wild Card round.

Rodgers completed 20-of-29 passes for 225 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. It marked just the second time in 21 career playoff games Rodgers didn’t throw a touchdown.

“I didn’t have a great night tonight,” Rodgers admitted afterwards.

As the 2022 season begins, Rodgers’ greatest accomplishments include:

• Rodgers is second all-time with four MVP awards, trailing only Peyton Manning (five).

• Rodgers was named MVP of the 45^th Super Bowl after throwing three touchdowns and leading the Packers past Pittsburgh, 31-25.

• Rodgers was named to the 2010s All-Decade Team by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, one of two QBs (Tom Brady) selected to the team by the HOF’s 48-member selection committee.

• He ranks in a tie for second in NFL history (min. 1,500 attempts) in career passer rating (104.5) behind only Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes.

• He’s posted the top two single-season passer-rating marks in league history (122.5 in 2011, 121.5 in 2020).

• He ranks first all-time in TD/INT ratio (4.83, 449/93) and interception percentage (1.31).

• His three seasons with 40-plus TD passes are tied with Brady for No. 1 in league annals.

• Rodgers was selected to the Pro Bowl in 10 of the last 12 seasons (2009, 2011-12, 2014-16, 2018-21). His 10 career selections are the most in franchise history.

• He’s led the league in interception percentage an NFL-record six times in his career (2009, 2014, 2018-21).

“There’s so many things that I like about him, not only from just a physical ability, but he is one of the most competitive players that I’ve ever been around,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said of Rodgers. “You can see it on a daily basis.

“It’s not just on the field, it’s in the meeting room, too. I just enjoy our communication. I enjoy the challenge. He’s an extremely intelligent player that has played a lot of ball and you better know what you’re talking about.”

Rodgers and the Packers agreed to a three-year, $150.8 million contract extension this offseason, making him the NFL’s highest paid quarterback. Now, he must perform like it when the postseason arrives.

That won’t be easy, as Green Bay’s wide receiver position is in flux after trading away All-Pro Davante Adams. But when you’re the highest paid player in league history — as Rodgers is — that’s part of the job requirement.

Rodgers is a first-ballot Hall of Famer and arguably one of the top-10 to 15 quarterbacks in NFL history. His playoff résumé isn’t pretty, though.

Rodgers has at least one more chance in Green Bay to rewrite history. Whether he can deliver — or simply delivers more postseason disappointment — has all of Packer Nation holding their collective breath.

What about Love?

For the third straight season, 2020 first round draft choice Jordan Love is unlikely to see the field much. Love spent the 2020 season as Green Bay’s No. 3 quarterback behind Rodgers and Tim Boyle, then moved up to No. 2 last year.

The Packers still view Love as part of their future, but he needs an impressive training camp and preseason to warrant that trust.

Love has already been labeled a bust by many, but his physical skills are unique and the Packers have no plans to throw in the towel on him just yet.

“I feel really good about his ability to grow, and he’s going to have to do it,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said of Love. “I don’t think you ever really know that until you put him out there in 16-some games or whatever.

“The only way I think any players get better in this league is by playing, and they all need to play to get significantly better. But I am really excited for his development.”

Love completed 36-of-62 passes last season for 411 yards. He threw two touchdowns, three interceptions and had a passer rating of 68.7.

Love made one start last season when Rodgers was sidelined with COVID and struggled in a 13-7 loss at Kansas City. Love’s final numbers weren’t awful as he completed 19-of-34 for 190 yards with one touchdown and one interception. But the Packers were held scoreless until the final five minutes and couldn’t rally back.

“Obviously not good enough,” Love said of his performance that night.

Love’s other big chance to shine came in the regular season finale against Detroit.

Love played the entire second half, led the Packers to three scores and gave Green Bay a 30-27 lead with a late 62-yard touchdown pass to Josiah Deguara. But after Detroit took a 37-30 lead, Love threw a pair of interceptions in the final two minutes while trying to rally the Packers to a win.

Although Love (6-4, 219) has struggled early in his Green Bay career, he is just 23 and remains a remarkably gifted physical specimen. Love has fantastic arm talent, can throw from several arm slots, has nifty touch on deep balls and has extremely large hands (10 ½ inches).

But many of the questions teams had on Love prior to the 2020 draft — decision making, accuracy, anticipation — still exist.

Starting this summer, Love must prove the good clearly outweighs the bad.

“Every year I’ve been here, it’s more confidence and just more comfortable with the system, knowing what’s going on a little bit more, being able to learn a little bit more,” Love said. “Obviously, it’s a process being a quarterback in the NFL and the more reps you can get in that game, it helps.

“There’s a lot of takeaways and things I wish I can do better and obviously things I felt I did good. Just trying to work on those things.”