Getty Quarterback Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers walks off the field after the 23-10 win over the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on December 23, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Aaron Rodgers didn’t hide the raw emotion as he rounded the corner toward the locker room and crashed into a bear hug with linebackers coach Mike Smith, both of them roaring in celebration only minutes after Monday night’s 23-10 road win over the Minnesota Vikings.
The Green Bay Packers (12-3) weren’t just going back to the playoffs. They were also NFC North champions for the first time in three years, giving the rest of the NFL less of a reason than ever to doubt them as a genuine contender for the Super Bowl this season.
But Rodgers also admitted there was something extra nice about winning at U.S. Bank Stadium, where two seasons ago Vikings fans reportedly laughed and cheered as was carted off the field with a broken collarbone in mid-October. He certainly hasn’t forgotten the attitude of the fans and was glad to finally get even after also losing in 2018.
“It’s great to win in this stadium after I was jeered a couple years ago leaving the field with a broken collarbone,” Rodgers said in Monday’s postgame about winning the division in Minnesota, via The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman.
Aaron Rodgers is fired up. OLBs coach Mike Smith lifts him off the ground.
Rodgers didn’t have his best performance of the season, throwing no touchdowns along with only his third interception of the season, but he gained enough important yardage at opportune moments for the Packers. His 18-yard completion to Davante Adams helped set up Aaron Jones’ show-stealing touchdown run of 56 yards to seal the game. Rodgers also tagged Geronimo Allison for a two-point conversion to put the Packers up by a touchdown in the third quarter.
He finished 26-of-40 passing with 261 yards and a 34.2 quarterback rating, getting sacked three times but generally not facing much pass-rush pressure down the stretch.
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No Mistake, Defense Beat the Vikings
Rodgers smiled when he said “defense wins NFC North championships” on the field in a postgame interview with ESPN, but that couldn’t have been more the case Monday night when it came to how the Packers defense showed up in the second half.
After holding the Vikings to just 10 points — an achievement all on its own after the Packers offense turned the ball over three times in the first half — Green Bay’s defense played lights-out down the stretch with nothing but punts and an interception the rest of the way for Kirk Cousins and his cohorts. Rodgers and head coach Matt LaFleur were both quick to heap praise the defensive coordinator Mike Pettine and his entire unit for the victory.
“I think that we were pretty fortunate when you’re down 3-o in the turnover battle and it’s a one-point game,” LaFleur told reporters in Monday’s postgame. “I’ll take that any day of the week because … it usually is not like that. And that’s a credit to our defense, they stepped up big time. Especially when you turn the ball over in the areas of the field that we did. The one was on the 10-yard line … and to just hold them to 10 points, that was big-time.”
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