Getty Aaron Rodgers isn't giving up on the 2022 season after the Packers lost their third straight game.
The Green Bay Packers are looking the worst they have under head coach Matt LaFleur after sustaining their third straight loss and falling to 3-4 on the season for the first time ever in Aaron Rodgers’ tenure as starting quarterback, but the four-time NFL MVP has not lost any faith in the quality of their 2022 squad.
Rodgers didn’t have a ton of positive things to say in the aftermath of their 23-21 loss to the Washington Commanders in Week 7, criticizing the “mental mistakes” that once again plagued them in a loss and resulted in too many dropped passes and penalties. The pattern has become a problem for the Packers and started to stir up conversation about if the team even has what it takes to live up to their championship aspirations.
The current situation has also caused some to recall Rodgers’ famous line from 2016, in which he said he believed the Packers could still “run the table” after losing their fourth straight game and falling to 4-6 on the year. They won their final six games that season and made it as far as the NFC Championship Game before falling to the Atlanta Falcons.
Does the same type of scenario feel plausible to Rodgers again in 2022?
“You’re goddamn right it does,” Rodgers said adamantly after October 23’s loss. “I’m not worried about this squad. In fact, this might be the best possible thing for us. This week, nobody is going to give us a chance going to Buffalo on Sunday Night Football, a chance to get exposed. Shoot, it might be the best thing for us.”
Rodgers Believes He’s ‘The Right Person for the Job’
Even with Rodgers not playing his best football, there is no shortage of confidence from the 38-year-old quarterback. He has gone through numerous highs and lows during his career in Green Bay and knows from experience that the Packers still have plenty of time to salvage their season and live up to their playoff aspirations. He also believes in his own capabilities and trusts in himself to get the job done at quarterback.
As to whether the rest of the Packers’ locker room holds the same mindset as him, though, Rodgers doesn’t feel he can answer for his teammates.
“I mean, it should be,” Rodgers said. “Unless they don’t think they’re the right person for the job. I think I’m the right person for the job, so you’d have to ask them.”
Packers Offense Needs to Rediscover ‘Winning Football’
The Packers had a myriad of issues that contributed to their loss to the Commanders on all sides of the ball. There were some costly defensive penalties that kept alive some of the Commanders’ drives. There was Amari Rodgers’ momentum-tilting muffed punt that resulted in a turnover and Washington’s first points of the game. Right now, though, Rodgers is concerned about the offense not playing “winning football.”
According to Pro Football Focus, the Packers had five dropped passes against the Commanders, but a less generous estimation probably has that number closer to seven or eight drops on the afternoon. It wasn’t just inexperience holding back the Packers, either, as Allen Lazard, Robert Tonyan and Aaron Jones all dropped at least one pass. The problem, as Rodgers keeps emphasizing, is mistakes in the details that prevent players from being consistent and stall the Packers offense at the worst of times.
“We have talent on our team for sure, but it has to consistently show up from all of us,” Rodgers said. “Otherwise, why would we have any confidence in moving forward? We scored 14 points today. Seven in a two-minute, seven on a short field. Last week, we scored 10 points. Three in a two-minute, seven in a no-huddle. It hasn’t been winning football on offense.”