Mile High Huddle

'Banged Up' Aaron Rodgers Says Loss to Broncos Was 'Outlier'

The Jets QB went on The Pat McAfee Show to ruminate over his Week 4 defeat.

Zack Kelberman

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) is sacked by Denver Broncos defensive end John Franklin-Myers (98) during the second quarter at MetLife Stadium.
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) is sacked by Denver Broncos defensive end John Franklin-Myers (98) during the second quarter at MetLife Stadium. / Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images
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Aaron Rodgers is still feeling the effects of his Week 4 run-in with the Denver Broncos. Physically, and perhaps mentally.

Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, the New York Jets veteran quarterback admitted he's "a little banged up" and his knee is "a little swollen" following a 10-9 loss to Denver that he believes was an "outlier."

"I'm feeling a little banged up," Rodgers said. "Took some shots. Knee's a little swollen. Just kind of wear and tear. I'm hoping we can all have a little perspective here: that seemed like an outlier game. Obviously, Denver has a real solid defense. But the weather, and their defense, and our lack of execution — pretty bad combination."

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On a road-soaked afternoon at MetLife Stadium, Rodgers was under continual duress from the league-leading Broncos defense, which delivered five sacks and 14 hits on the future Hall of Fame signal-caller, holding him to 225 scoreless yards on 42 attempts with a 72.0 passer rating.

"It's tough to do against him," Broncos head coach Sean Payton said in his post-game press conference. "He's someone that's real good with his protection IDs and he's also someone who he knows if he's short one and he knows right away. So, you'll send a guy in motion, he's extremely smart so you may go another 20 games before you see that happen to him. Look, that was part of the success today."

One of the sacks — a crushing blindside blow from Denver safety PJ Locke, who recorded the second-fastest QB takedown in Week 4, per Next Gen Stats — appeared to leave Rodgers in visible discomfort as the contest drew to a close.

The inclement weather undoubtedly marred production (for both clubs), but this appears to be no "outlier" for a Broncos defense that's pacing the NFL in yards per play allowed (4.2) and ranks second in passing yards per play allowed (4.3), according to Next Gen Stats. Vance Joseph's unit is also second in total yards allowed per game (256.5) and sacks (16.0) and third in points allowed per game (13.8).

"It's hard to sack Aaron. You guys know that," Payton reiterated to reporters Monday. "He's real good with his release and to have five sacks is unusual in a game. Again, we felt like they were a pretty good rushing team too going in and we saw that a year ago. So I was pleased with our ability to win those little battles.”

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Zack Kelberman
ZACK KELBERMAN

Zack Kelberman is the Senior Editor for Mile High Huddle. He has covered the NFL for more than a decade and the Denver Broncos since 2016. He's also the co-host of the wildly popular Broncos show the Mile High Huddle Podcast.

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