PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Let's bottom line Aaron Rodgers' last season, his team won five games. But then let's start digging into more of his 2024 to see what he really did.
There were some bad games-the opener against San Francisco, the pair of interceptions against the Steelers including a Pick Six. He was bad in a 31-6 loss at Arizona where the offense had only six possessions. Rodgers started strong, but faded in a five-point loss to Seattle.
He led 9-6 against the Rams missing a couple of 4th and 4 passes and the Jets missed a key field goal (Jets missed eight field goals and three extra points on the season). He threw a pair of picks and sacked four times, including one for a safety in a blowout loss at Buffalo.
But, it wasn't all bad when you start looking at the numbers evaluating his season as he returned from an Achilles tendon tear. He was top 8 in several big passing categories:
· 7th in the NFL with 28 touchdown passes (more than Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Matt Stafford, CJ Stroud, Brock Purdy)
· 8th in the NFL in passing yards, 3897 (ahead of Herbert, Stafford, Josh Allen-NFL MVP, Stroud).
· 8th in plays of 20-plus yards, 51 (more than Joe Burrow, Stafford, Mahomes)
· 5th in expected completion percentage
· Had 2 of the 11 most improbable completions of the season, as judged by NFL Next Gen stats
· He did this despite having the 6th worst time to throw, 2.69 seconds, Russell Wilson was 2.86
There were also games where he made huge plays to either give them an opportunity to win or get a victory.
Game 2 at Tennessee 24-17 win
· In a tie-game in the fourth quarter, drove the Jets 74 yards for a touchdown including a 26-yard pass to Garrett Wilson on 3rd and 1 and a 19-yard pass to Mike Williams on 2nd and 1.
Game 4 Denver 10-9 loss
· Got ball with 51 seconds left, drove it to Denver 32-yard-line before Greg Zuerlein missed a 50-yard field goal to win it
Game 6 Buffalo 23-20 loss
· Score tied at 20, threw a 4-yard TD pass in the 3rd quarter, but it was called back due to holding and Zuerlein missed a 32-yard FG
· Still tied in the 4th, Rodgers drove it from the Jets 34 to the Bills 27, Zuerlein missed a 43-yard FG.
Game 8 New England 25-22 loss
· Down 16-14 in the second half, drove to the New England 17, sacked on 3rd down, Zuerlein missed 44-yard FG
· Drove 70 yards to take the lead with 2:57 to play before Jacoby Brissett led game-winning drive against Jets defense
Game 9 Houston 21-13 win
· Led 3 consecutive touchdown drives in the second half of 65, 70 and 80 yards including 37-yard TD to Davonte Adams on 3rd and 3
Game 11 Indianapolis 28-27 loss
· Up 24-22, Rodgers took 7:26 off the clock in the 4th quarter leading to a field goal with 2:44 to play.
Indy would drive down the field for a game-winning touchdown.
Game 13 at Miami 32-26 loss in overtime
· With 4:25 to play in the game, drove from the Jets 13 to the Miami 27 before a negative run and a sack halted the drive, but Rodgers would hit Adams for 14 yards to get back into field goal range to take a 26-23 lead.
· Defense allowed game-tying touchdown and then Rodgers never got the ball in overtime.
Game 14 at Jacksonville 32-25 win
· Led a pair of 4th quarter drives for the win. Down five with 4:19 to play, Rodgers went 87 yards in 53 seconds including a 71-yard touchdown to Adams.
· Game tied at 25, Rodgers went 70 yards in 46 seconds for game-winning TD
Game 17 Miami 32-20 win
· Scored on the last 3 drives of the game and threw 4 touchdowns in the game.
· When Miami cut lead to 5 with 5:21 left in the game, Rodgers drove 70 yards including a 29-yard completion to Adams on 3rd down, and a 6-yard TD to Breece Hall to seal the game.
None of this is to excuse the 12 losses or 11 interceptions. But when you start looking at some of the games and situations, maybe it's not as bad as you thought.
