ESPN's Mad Dog Says Aaron Rodgers Comparable to Jared Goff
Not often are former Cal quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Jared Goff compared with each other. Rodgers has won four MVPs, including the past two, and is considered one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, and Goff is barely hanging on to the starting job with the Detroit Lions.
On Wednesday in the often high-decibel ESPN debate between Stephen A. Smith and Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, Smith called Rodgers the most talented player ever to play quarterback.
The Mad Dog responded by claiming that Rodgers in the playoffs "is a .500 quarterback, he's Jared Goff."
To which Smith replied, "The gall, the audacity of what you just said. You must be crazy."
Mad Dog's argument is that Goff and Rodgers have had similar success in the postseason, when the importance of quarterback play is magnified. (Tom Brady is often considered the best quarterback in history largely because of his postseason success.)
---Click here for the video of this Smith-Mad Dog debate---
To wit:
Since Goff came into the NFL in 2016, Goff is 3-3 in postseason games in which he was his team's primary quarterback, while Rodgers is 5-5 in playoff games in that span.
Goff led his team to the Super Bowl once in that period; Rodgers did not get the Packers to the Super Bowl at all in those six seasons.
Rodgers is 11-10 overall in the postseason, and Goff is 3-3 (including the 2021 playoff game against Seattle when he replaced John Wofford in the first quarter).
Mad Dog's closing argument is that Rodgers has struggled in the playoffs recently even though most of those games have been at home. The Packers lost two of their three postseason home games the past two years, and Goff's last four postseason games were all away from home, and he went 2-2 in those.
Smith granted that Rodgers' postseason play at home recently has not been exemplary, and Mad Dog claimed a debating victory.
Having listened to the entire debate (argument?), which would you rather have as your team's quarterback with a berth in the Super Bowl on the line?
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Cover photo of Jared Goff is by Raj Mehta, USA TODAY Sports
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