Aaron Rodgers sets dubious NFL record in season opener
With one game left in week one, Green Bay Packers reigning NFL MVP Aaron Rodger has jumped out to a historical start but not in a good way.
On Sunday, Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers took a serious beating at the hands of the New Orleans Saints and finished the game with the lowest passer rating by a reigning NFL MVP in their first game after winning the award, according to NFL’s stats and research.
With just a passer rating of 36.8, Rodgers set the new mark. As another NFL writer noted, Rodgers could have thrown the ball in the dirt every play and had a better passer rating.
Rodgers’ offensive woes
The Packers failed to gather any momentum all game long, and Rodgers’s play was a big factor in that. He was 15 of 28 passing for 133 yards and zero touchdowns. Rodgers also threw two interceptions in the third quarter. The first was on a crossing route in the red zone by the Saints rookie corner, Paulson Adebo. The other was by safety Marcus Willams later in the quarter on an overshot deep ball. The Packers also failed to complete a single third-down conversion with Rodgers.
In the fourth quarter, Green Bay threw in the towel and pulled Rodgers for the game with 11 minutes left in the game. Love would fair slightly better than Rodgers did going 5-7 and completing the Packers’ only successful third down conversion of the game.
On the Packers, last drive of the game, Love put the team in scoring position one last time. But instead of leading them on their first touchdown drive for the game, he’d join Rodgers in adding to the turnover tally. On a first-and-goal from the five-yard-line, Love was stripped sacked by defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon.
As bad as the numbers were for Rodgers, the entire team had a poor outing. The defense gave up 171 yards rushing and struggled to slow down Jameis Winston’s dual-threat ability. Winston had six carries for 37 yards, and although he had just 151 yards passing, he finished with all five of the Saints’ touchdowns. That tied his previous career-best mark.
It was rumored that the Saints picked Jacksonville to play the Packers because of Rodgers’s poor play in recent trips to Florida. Just last year against the Buccaneers in week six loss, Rodgers went 16-35 passing for 160 yards and two interceptions. In the past two years, he has had two of his worst games as a starter. So if that is a reason why they picked Jacksonville, then the Saints picked the perfect venue to host Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.
The Packers will look to bounce back new week in a Monday night matchup against their rival, the Detroit Lions. The game will be back at home for Green Bay and will kickoff at 8:15 p.m. EST.