Cal Sports Report

ESPN Compares Packers QBs Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre

Former Cal quarterback's interception numbers are better than Favre's and any current NFL player

Jake Curtis

ESPN Compares Packers QBs Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre
ESPN Compares Packers QBs Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre /

With former Cal star Aaron Rodgers on the verge of breaking Brett Favre's record for touchdown passes thrown by a Packers quarterback, ESPN.com took the opportunity to compare the two star Green Bay quarterbacks and detail some of the Rodgers' genius

Rodgers noted that the Packers' record for TD passes is one that has stood out for him, and he probably will own that record on Sunday.

The ESPN story by Rob Demovsky said this:

Rodgers tied Favre's franchise record of 442 TD passes on Sunday when he threw three in a 31-30 win over the Baltimore Ravens. Rodgers can break the record at Lambeau on Saturday against the Cleveland Browns (4:30 p.m. ET, Fox).

"That's a special one," Rodgers said recently, "just because of the history of the franchise and how long our franchise has been around and how many great players have come through here and the opportunity to be here 17 years and the longevity records Favrey used to talk about when he was here. To be part of some of those is pretty cool."

Favre needed 255 games and 253 starts for his 442 touchdowns over 16 seasons. Rodgers, who's in his 17th season, can do it in his 211th game and 204th start.

The biggest difference between the two, however, is the interception total. The gunslinging Favre threw 286 in his Packers career, more than any player in the NFL regardless of team. The fastidious Rodgers has thrown 93.

Rodgers noticed long before he played in the NFL that his high rate of interceptions was one of the reasons he was not recruited by colleges out of Pleasant Valley High School in Chico, Calif.

Now he seldom throws a pick, which made his two-interception game against New Orleans in the 2021 season-opener so unusual. He has thrown only two interceptions since then.

Over the past four seasons, covering 61 games, Rodgers has thrown just 15 interceptions. Tom Brady has thrown 42 picks in that span; Patrick Mahomes has thrown 36.

Rodgers has thrown 78 touchdown passes with only nine picks in 2020 and 2021 combined.

Brady, Mahomes, Kyler Murray, Josh Allen, Matthew Stafford, Justin Herbert, Dak Prescott, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson have all thrown more interceptions than that this season alone.

Demovsky goes on to point out several subtle aspects of Rodgers' game that make him one of the best ever.

---Free money plays. Rodgers is adept at making big plays when he knows a penalty is going to be called on the defense, i.e., plays in which the quarterback can take a chance because even an interception would be negated by a penalty.

Rodgers has thrown 15 touchdown passes on so-called free plays since 2008.  That's three times as many as any other NFL quarterback in that span. And the average yardage on those Rodgers plays is more than 25 yards.

---Lack of first-round-pick receivers. Rodgers has put up his numbers without players that were can't-miss stars coming out of college.  Davante Adams is an outstanding receiver now, but even he was a second-round draft pick.

The last time the Packers took a receiver in the first round was 2002, three years before Rodgers was drafted.

---The ability to throw the deep ball.

Since 2008, Rodgers leads the NFL with 106 touchdown passes that traveled at least 20-plus air yards, and he's had an NFL-high four seasons with 10 such touchdown passes. Tom Brady has done it once over that span. Rodgers also has an NFL-high five TD throws that traveled at least 50-plus air yards, including his Hail Mary to Richard Rodgers in 2015 that traveled 61 air yards, which are the most air yards on a touchdown pass thrown by any player since Rodgers entered the league in 2008.

Rodgers actually entered the league in 2005 and did not become a starter until 2008, but you get the point.

Let's take another look at that 2015, 61-yard, Rodgers-to-Rodgers combination of former Cal stars:

To throw a ball that far and that high while being chased by defenders and have the ball land exactly where you intend, two yards into the end zone, is hard to wrap your head around.

Rodgers said he practices those long throws all the time, and said it has more to do with touch than arm strength.

Rodgers' 110.4 passer rating for the season currently leads the NFL as he makes a bid for a second straight MVP award. How he performs over the final three regular-season games will determine whether he wins a fourth MVP.  

But the big prize is the Super Bowl. Rodgers has won it only once, lagging behind Brady's seven Super Bowl titles and the 11 other quarterbacks who have won more than one Super Bowl.

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Cover photo of Aaron Rodgers is by Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports

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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.

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