Rodgers Calls Record-Breaking Adams ‘Most Dominant’ Teammate

One day after his 29th birthday, Packers receiver Davante Adams scored two touchdowns in a record-setting performance vs. the Browns.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Davante Adams set a Green Bay Packers record and an NFL record on Saturday.

And if that wasn’t enough, he drew the highest praise imaginable from Aaron Rodgers.

“Most dominant player I’ve played with,” Rodgers said after a 24-22 victory over the Cleveland Browns in which Adams, well, dominated with 10 receptions for 114 yards and two touchdowns.

For the 66th and 67th times, Rodgers and Adams connected for touchdown passes. That broke the franchise record held previously by Rodgers and his former right-hand man, Jordy Nelson.

Having turned 29 on Friday and having long since established himself as one of the great players of the era, Adams’ competition is with himself.

“I’m chasing myself at all times. I want to be a better me than I was the previous week or the previous day,” he said. “So, it’s got nothing to do with any of that other stuff. I’m honored, humbled, all the above to be able to be in the position where I can join some of these names as far as production. So, it’s obviously a very humbling thing to be a part of but, for me, I just kind of see it as it happens and enjoy it for a night or two and then move on and get ready for the next one.”

The record-breaker came in the second quarter, a sublime connection in which Adams and Rodgers diagnosed the Browns’ blitz and ad-libbed without so much as a word, wink or nod. They are the marriage of a great quarterback, a great receiver, a great connection and a desire to be unstoppable.

“Nobody I’ve seen has that ability to continue to reinvent himself, even inside of a game, and set routes up the way he does,” Rodgers said on the day in which he broke the franchise record for career touchdown passes. “He’s a fantastic player. He gives you so many great plays during a game.

“On the touchdown to break the record, his was a really freelance route. That’s what makes him so great is his creativity within the system. When I looked over at him on the left, I was almost going to give him a signal to make sure we are on the same page, but something – intuition, whatever – said don’t do it. Just trust it. And he didn’t do what basically is on-the-paper football offense. He lost his guy quickly and they brought empty pressure. He did exactly what I would have wanted to tell him but there wasn’t even a signal that could’ve even come close to the beauty and the creativity of that route. It’s one of those fun moments.”

Adams added another touchdown later in the second quarter. By game’s end, he had his eighth career game of 10-plus catches, 100-plus yards and two-plus touchdown catches. That’s the most in NFL history, snapping a tie with Antonio Brown. From 1950 through 2021, there have been only five other such games in franchise history.

“Certain (records) like that, it means a lot,” Adams said. “Anytime you’re the only one in NFL history to do something, there’s certain things they can tell you, but to hear I’m the first in NFL history (to do that), it’s special. I’m more of an enjoy-it-that-night-and-forget-about-it (guy). That way you keep that hunger and keep pushing.”

Adams improved his season total to 106 receptions, making him the first player in Packers history with three seasons of 100-plus receptions and moving him into a tie for 10th on the NFL all-time list.

In his first nine games of the season, Adams scored only three touchdowns. In the last five games, he’s scored seven touchdowns. Over those five games, Adams has scored six red-zone touchdowns, leading the way as Green Bay has hit its stride at the right time with by going 15-of-21 (71.4 percent) during that span.

“I’ve played with some great ones over the years,” Rodgers said. “Obviously, Brett Favre, incredible player, all-time great; Charles Woodson, the same and the way he could dominate on the field from a defensive back position was incredible. Jordy Nelson, him and I always had such a great connection. But when you start stacking up the numbers for Davante, it’s mind-blowing. I really feel like he’s the best player I’ve played with, and I said that to him the other night, actually. I was just thinking about him and having a lot of gratitude for our friendship and the fact I get to play with him for so many years now. I just felt like I wanted to tell him that because it’s true.”