GREEN BAY, Wis. -- This time, there were no exuberant head-butts, no expletive-sprinkled “I’m back” proclamations in the faces of teammates. In fact, Aaron Rodgers didn’t even talk about his performance in the aftermath of Sunday’s loss at Atlanta.
Perhaps that’s because the way he played in his team’s 33-32 loss to the Falcons said more than anything he might have uttered from the postgame podium.
“Aaron’s one of those guys, he’s a special player, without a doubt,” Packers offensive coordinator Edgar Bennett said Monday. “And I think we all know that and understand that.”
Over the past calendar year, however, more than a few people have questioned that. In the process, they've turned diagnosing “What’s wrong with Aaron Rodgers?” into something of a cottage industry.
“The scrutiny’s ridiculous,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Monday. “We could talk about opinions, statistics and so forth, but I thought he played extremely well [Sunday]. I can’t compliment him enough.”
Rodgers certainly appeared to get his season back on track at the Georgia Dome, where he’s had some success in the past. He completed 28 of 38 passes for 246 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions, good for a passer rating of 125.5, his second-highest of the season. The four touchdown passes -- thrown to four receivers (Jordy Nelson, Trevor Davis, Geronimo Allison and Jeff Janis) -- tied a season high.
Although he wasn’t able to deliver a second fourth-quarter comeback after orchestrating a 13-play, 86-yard, nearly 9-minute go-ahead touchdown drive earlier in the quarter, Rodgers certainly passed the back-to-being-himself eye test. The touchdown to Davis -- rolling to his right, buying time, delivering a paint-the-outside-corner strike where only Davis could get it -- was a vintage Rodgers throw.
Rodgers also dropped a 58-yard let-’er-rip strike into the waiting arms of an in-stride Nelson earlier in the game against zone coverage, and his go-ahead touchdown throw to Janis was an on-the-mark perfect throw.
Now, after going a much-ballyhooed 14 straight games without a passer rating above 100, Rodgers -- still the NFL’s all-time career leader in that department -- has had back-to-back games over the 100-point mark. His season completion percentage has gone from a lowly 56.1 percent three weeks ago to 64.0 percent -- much more in line with his 65 percent career mark -- entering Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lambeau Field.
It’s possible that Rodgers found his rhythm in the Packers’ Oct. 20 win over Chicago, when injuries decimated the running back corps and led Rodgers to throw 56 passes (five shy of his career high) and complete 39 of them (a career-high and Packers franchise record). Perhaps he has simply rediscovered his comfort zone and his accuracy, knowing that McCarthy’s planned recipe for offensive success has gone out the window amid all the team’s injuries.
“Every year’s different. We’re a different offense today than we were in Week 1 at Jacksonville. We’re a different offense than we were last year,” McCarthy said. “That’s the reality of it. [Rodgers] controls those changes as well as anybody I’ve been around. I thought he played exceptionally well.”
Rodgers still wasn’t perfect. He missed high on a throw to Nelson across the middle during the Packers’ final possession, and he and Davante Adams were on different pages on the final fourth-down throw, which might have put the Packers in range for a game-winning field goal. But for a guy who has completed passes to 15 different players this season -- the most in the NFL, according to ESPN Stats & Information -- and is adjusting on the fly to a still-evolving offense, Sunday was without question an encouraging sign.
“Honestly, people talking about what’s wrong with Aaron and blah blah blah -- this is the dumbest thing ever,” ex-Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk, admittedly biased as one of Rodgers’ closest friends, said during an appearance on ESPN Wisconsin’s Wilde & Tausch last week. “I can’t stand it. It’s so stupid. I mean, what are we doing? That’s football. It’s up and down. Who cares? No one’s perfect every week.”
Maybe not, but Rodgers looked a lot closer to himself Sunday, and that’s something he and the Packers care deeply about.