Cal Sports Report

Ex-Cal Star Aaron Rodgers Relives His Magical 37-Second Drive

Packers QB discusses win over 49ers on Pat McAfee show, noting it was "a rough night for some of the 'he doesn't care' campers"

Jake Curtis

Ex-Cal Star Aaron Rodgers Relives His Magical 37-Second Drive
Ex-Cal Star Aaron Rodgers Relives His Magical 37-Second Drive /

The drive that former Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers put together in the final 37 seconds of the Packers' 30-28 win over the San Francisco 49ers Sunday night had all sorts of sidebar stories to go with it. And Rodgers talked about those related stories when he appeared on the Pat McAfee show Tuesday evening.

First of all, it put to rest the claims after Rodgers' poor performance in the opener that he doesn't care about this season.

"Rough night, I guess, for some of those 'He doesn't care' campers," Rodgers said.

“I love the game, I love competing. There’s nothing like it,” Rodgers said. “There’s nothing like having the ball in your hands with a chance to win the game, late in the game. That’s what we live for. That’s what we dream about. We don’t dream about kneel-downs at the end of games.”

There's a classic line: "We don't dream about kneel-downs."

An added storyline is that Rodgers' final drive came against the 49ers, the team he followed growing up in Northern California -- Chico, to be precise.

"I was a San Fran fan for my entire young life," he said.

He had a specific memory of the Joe Montana-led, 92-yard touchdown drive in the closing minutes that gave the 49ers a 20-16 victory in Super Bowl XXIII, following the 1988 season.

"When I was a young kid watching The Drive, that's what I wanted to do -- drive your team 92 yards down the field and win a game," he said.

Rodgers is still not among the top 10 in the NFL in passer rating after his poor performance in the opener, but he threw six touchdown passes with no interceptions in the past two games. And that 37-second drive, which ended with Mason Crosby's 51-yard field goal on the final play, brought his name back into the early MVP discussion.

Doesn't care?

.

Cover photo of Aaron Rodgers by Cary Edmondson, USA TODAY Sports

.

Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by searching: @si.calsportsreport or going to https://www.facebook.com/si.calsportsreport

Published
Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

Home/Football