Rodgers Joins Elite 4,000-Yard Club

Facing the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers joined a short list with his latest 4,000 passing season.

DETROIT – Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers entered Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions needing 23 passing yards to reach 4,000 yards for the season.

In what could be an abbreviated afternoon at Ford Field, he wasted little time in getting there. Rodgers did it on the first play with a 28-yard completion to Allen Lazard.

In the process, Rodgers joined an elite group of quarterbacks with 10 seasons of 4,000-plus passing yards. The others are Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, who did it 14 times, Tom Brady (13 and counting), Drew Brees (12), Philip Rivers (12) and Matt Ryan (10).

It's the 17th season of 4,000 passing yards in franchise history. Rodgers has 10, Brett Favre had five and Don Majkowski and Lynn Dickey had one each.

With the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs wrapped up, there was little reason for Rodgers and the team’s other top players to play other than to stay sharp.

“I don’t think he necessarily needs to play,” coach Matt LaFleur said on Friday. “I think he’s proven that throughout the course of the season in terms of the lack of practice that he’s had and still going out there and playing at an MVP level, so I don’t think he necessarily needs to play. I think he wants to play. I think he wants to keep the momentum going.”

Green Bay entered the game with a five-game winning streak.

“The most important thing is healthy and hot,” Rodgers said this week. “You’ve got to be the healthiest team, and the hottest team usually makes the deepest run. Hopefully we can get out of this next game healthy, get some guys back and keep the hotness going.”

Rodgers is having another MVP-caliber season, leading a team hit hard by major injuries to key players to the best record in the NFL. Through 16 games, he led the NFL in passer rating, touchdown percentage and interception percentage. In the Super Bowl era, only Rodgers last season, Tom Brady in 2010, Steve Young in 1992 and Ken Anderson in 1981 have led the league in all three categories.

He threw at least two touchdowns with zero interceptions in his last six games, the second-longest streak in NFL history.

Last week, Rodgers set the NFL record with his 12th game of two-plus touchdowns and zero interceptions. In NFL history, there have been four seasons of at least 11 games of two touchdowns and zero picks: Rodgers in 2020, Rodgers in 2014 and Brady in 2010.

The Packers are closing the regular season with an NFC North game. Rodgers entered Sunday having thrown 36 touchdowns vs. zero interceptions during 11 divisional games the past two seasons. His passer rating is 131.8.

Rodgers entered the game having thrown 16 touchdown passes in five division games this season. That’s more than four teams have for their entire 16-game seasons (Chicago, 15; Giants, 14; Carolina, 12; Jacksonville, 10).