Rodgers, Adams Strike Again: ‘17’s Built Different’

Beyond the difficulty of the winning touchdown catch, Davante Adams continued to amaze Aaron Rodgers with his performance vs. Jacksonville.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – In 2016, Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams connected for a memorable touchdown in the victory at Jacksonville.

They did it again on Sunday.

While it wasn’t quite the ridiculous throw and catch from four years ago, Adams came out of the medical tent and made a leaping touchdown catch to help the Green Bay Packers avoid an embarrassing upset with a 24-20 victory.

“First, I’m going to talk about his toughness,” Rodgers said as part of the lengthy accompanying video. “I won’t get into what he was dealing with, but the fact that he’s out, and then I’m on the sidelines and I hear, ‘Hey, 17 said he wants to go back in.’ Look, you might think that’s a normal thing in this game and maybe it was 10 years ago, but you just see less and less of that happening. I think there’s more of a, ‘Oh, you know, Doc doesn’t think I can go here. Maybe I should sit out the rest of the game.’ But 17’s built different. He always has been. And for him to get back out there, I asked him a couple of times, I said, ‘Are you OK? You good?’ And he just nodded that he was.”

Beyond the touchdown, Rodgers and Adams continued their remarkable seasons with understated performances.

Rodgers threw for 325 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday. While he did toss one interception, he finished the day with a 108.1 passer rating.

With that, Rodgers has eight games with at least two touchdown passes and a 100-plus rating this season, marking the fourth time that a quarterback has done so in eight of his first nine games of a season in NFL history. Rodgers (all nine games in 2011), Tom Brady (eight in 2007 with the Patriots) and Philip Rivers (eight in 2018 with the Chargers) mark the only other occasions.

Adams caught eight passes for 66 yards and the one touchdown. In his seven games this season, he has 61 receptions for 741 yards and nine touchdowns. Adams and Hall of Famers Marvin Harrison (1999 with the Colts) and Randy Moss (2007 with the Vikings) are the only players in NFL history with at least 700 receiving yards and nine touchdown receptions in their first seven games of a season in the Super Bowl era. Moreover, Adams’ 61 receptions are the fifth-most by a player in his first seven games of a season in NFL history.

“The dude’s a special player,” Rodgers said. “He’s one-of-a-kind and he never ceases to grow my respect.”