Packers QB Aaron Rodgers Will Start Regular-Season Finale Despite No. 1 Seed

Matt LaFleur says Rodgers doesn't need to play but wants to keep the momentum going.

The Packers enter Week 18 with the NFC’s No. 1 seed locked up Green Bay (13–3) goes on the road to face the Lions (2–13) on Sunday. Although the road to the Super Bowl will go through Lambeau Field, quarterback Aaron Rodgers will still make the start against Detroit.

“I don’t think he needs to play,” Packers head coach Matt LaFleur told ESPN's Rob Demovsky. “I think he wants to play and keep the momentum going.”

Rodgers will be joined by his top receiving target in Davante Adams. However, it remains unclear how long both will stay on the field. Currently, Rodgers sits as one of the league’s frontrunners for Most Valuable Player.

The three-time MVP is only 23 yards shy of his 10th 4,000-yard season since taking over as Green Bay’s starting quarterback in 2008. He has thrown for 35 touchdowns and four interceptions while completing 68.6% of his passes this season. 

In his 17-year NFL career, Rodgers has thrown for 447 touchdowns, 93 interceptions and posted a 139-65-1 regular-season record as a starter. Statistically, the 2021 season has been spectacular for Rodgers. He passed Brett Favre as the Packers all-time leader in career touchdown passes early in the 2021 campaign.

The Packers’ first playoff game will be on either Jan. 22 or Jan. 23 after their first-round bye. The 2021 playoffs will mark Rodgers’s 12th postseason with the Packers. Green Bay are hoping to get back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2010 after falling short in the NFC Championship game the past two seasons.

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