Rodgers States His MVP Case

Aaron Rodgers' 48 touchdown passes are tied for the fifth-most in NFL history and not far off his combined total of 51 in 2018 and 2019.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – With Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes getting the day off, the NFL MVP was Aaron Rodgers’ to lose.

He didn’t lose it.

In fact, he perhaps put an exclamation mark on what should be his third MVP season. Rodgers completed his first 10 passes and finished the day 19-of-24 passing for 240 yards and four touchdowns to propel the Green Bay Packers to a 35-16 victory over the rival Chicago Bears that clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.

It was an emphatic closing statement.

“The MVP should be locked up,” star receiver Davante Adams said. “There’s nothing else to really talk about. You look at what we’ve done and what he’s been able to do, and they’ve hit him with everything. Said he didn’t have any weapons, and we go out there and go 13-3 regular season. It’s a hell of an accomplishment.

“I could talk all day about his MVP push and all of that, but I think he’s allowed his play to step up and do that. Yeah, it’s pretty clear to me who the MVP of the season is. And it’s going to be a person who’s won a couple of them before.”

Chicago did everything in its power to limit the range of destruction delivered by Rodgers and the NFL’s top-ranked scoring offense. Chicago ran 30 more plays and held an 11-minute edge in time of possession by converting 5-of-6 fourth downs. A special-teams turnover allowed Chicago to steal a possession.

And it didn’t matter. Green Bay needed merely 44 plays to score 35 points against one of the better defenses in the NFL. In the process, Rodgers improved his career record against the Bears to 20-5.

Rodgers would have ended up with more touchdowns than incompletions if not for Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s drop of what should have been a 55-yard touchdown pass to open the second half. That play swung the momentum but, when the Packers absolutely needed a drive, he completed 7-of-8 passes to set up Aaron Jones’ touchdown run that made it 28-16.

Regardless of the drop by Valdes-Scantling, the season-long numbers are staggering. His 121.5 passer rating is the best in the league and second in NFL history behind only his 122.5 from his MVP season of 2011. His 48 touchdowns are tied for the fifth-most in NFL history with Hall of Famer Dan Marino. His 9.6-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio is the seventh-best ever. For the first time in his career, he led the league with a 70.7 percent completion rate.

A model of consistency, he posted a 100-plus passer rating in a record 14 games. He had three-plus touchdown passes in 12 games, tied with Tom Brady (2007 with the Patriots) for most in a season.

Supposedly too old, too set in his ways or too uncoachable, Rodgers instead has enjoyed a renaissance season.

Despite attempting 47 fewer passes than last year, Rodgers had 19 more completion, 297 more yards and 22 more touchdowns. His completion percentage went from 62.0 to 70.7, his yards per attempt soared from 7.0 to 8.2, and his passer rating rocketed from 95.4 to 121.5. His 48 touchdown passes aren’t far off from his combined total of 51 in 2018 and 2019.

It’s all silenced Rodgers’ legion of critics. The word “silenced” is appropriate. After the game, Rodgers recalled a Sunday night game at Houston in 2012. The Packers were 2-3 and 4-point underdogs against the 5-0 Texans. Rodgers threw six touchdown passes in a 42-24 victory.

Afterward, when asked about the critics, Rodgers famously told NBC sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, “Shhh.”

“She asked me a closing question on ‘Sunday Night Football.’ That’s kind of what comes to mind,” Rodgers said. “It seems to have gotten a little quiet around some of those topics that people wanted to make such a big deal about.”