Aaron Rodgers has surprisingly bad NFC title game numbers
No quarterback in NFL history protects the football better than Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers is the only quarterback in history to throw for 400 career touchdowns before hitting 100 interceptions.
Yet, despite his incredible touchdown-to-interception numbers, it’s surprising to see his career record in the NFC Championship Game.
The Green Bay Packers have gone 1-3 in four NFC title game appearances with Rodgers, and he’s thrown six touchdowns to seven interceptions in those games. A turnover-free performance will be key against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week but, surprisingly, he’s thrown at least one pick in all four previous trips to the conference finals.
Aaron Rodgers: NFC title game numbers
2010 season, at Bears: 17/30 (56.67 percent), 244 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs, 55.4 rating
2014 season, at Seahawks: 19/34 (55.88 percent), 178 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs, 55.8 rating
2016 season, at Falcons: 27/45 (60 percent), 287 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT, 91.6 rating
2019 season, at 49ers: 31/39 (79.49 percent), 326 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs, 97.2 rating
Total: 94/148 (63.5 percent), 1,035 yards, 6 TDs, 7 INTs
It’s important not to look too much into these numbers. There are various factors that contributed to these games. For starters, the Packers came up against some great defenses and some tough conditions to throw in.
Not to mention, all four games were on the road.
But it’s still something Rodgers will want to put right. He’s yet to put together an MVP performance in an NFC Championship Game. If the likely soon-to-be NFL MVP reaches his best against the Bucs this week, the Packers can book their flights. They’ll be Super Bowl-bound.
More concerning for this week isn’t Rodgers’ NFC title game numbers, but rather his performance in a game against the Buccaneers earlier in the year. It was Rodgers’ only game of the season without a touchdown pass and with multiple interceptions.
A lot has changed since then. The defense is playing much better football. The offensive line has been outstanding and Rodgers, well, he’s set to be the league MVP in a couple of weeks.
To advance to the Super Bowl, the Green Bay Packers need to improve a lot from Week 6, but we also need to see Aaron Rodgers’ best NFC title game performance.