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It was another tough night for the Green Bay Packers in their Week 11 loss to the Tennessee Titans, with quarterback Aaron Rodgers having an uncharacteristically poor performance on Thursday Night Football.
The box score was deceptive for Rodgers. The future Hall of Fame quarterback completed 24 of 39 passes for 227 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions for a passer rating of 94.7. However, even the 38-year-old quarterback admitted in his postgame press conference that he could have had a better game after missing some wide-open receivers.
“I’ve got to throw the ball better than I did tonight,” Rodgers told reporters after the game. “Not a lot of margin for error for us and definitely not against a team that gives you some opportunities. We’ve got to have those plays…I felt like fundamentally I was in a good spot. I just didn’t have the same type of consistent grip and ball coming out the same way. I threw a lot of kind of wobblers tonight. There was some wind. Just missed a few throws I should have had.”
There was a lot that went wrong for Packers fans, who also had some issues with the officiating, but now the team needs to figure out how it’s going to handle the rest of the season.
A Tough Season for Aaron Rodgers
Coming off back-to-back MVP seasons, Rodgers was expected to have another big year, even without his superstar wide receiver Davante Adams. Instead, it has been a year to forget for the Packers QB.
Through 11 games, Rodgers has thrown for 2,542 yards, 19 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. Those interceptions are tied for the most he’s thrown in a single season since 2016, and his passer rating of 93.2 is his lowest since 2015.
Those numbers have seen an uptick over the last two weeks thanks to the emergence of rookie Christian Watson. The second-round pick has been exceptional over the last two games, catching eight passes for 155 yards and five touchdowns over that span.
Still, the 38-year-old hasn’t looked like his old self. The thumb injury he suffered against the New York Giants in London likely hasn’t helped, but the inaccurate throws to open receivers are uncharacteristic for a quarterback considered one of the greatest to ever play the position.
Perhaps Rodgers could turn things around for the rest of the season and in 2023, but there’s also a chance that this could be his last NFL season.
Can the Packers Still Make the Playoffs?
The Packers haven’t been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, but the odds of them sneaking into the postseason with a 4-7 record right now is almost impossible.
According to FiveThirtyEight, the Packers have just a five percent chance of making the playoffs. A divisional title is almost certainly out of the picture with the Minnesota Vikings holding a sizable lead in the NFC North with an 8-1 record.
There are multiple teams ahead of the Packers in the wild card race as well. The 49ers, Cowboys, Giants, and even the Commanders currently hold better playoff positions than the Packers heading into the remainder of the Week 11 games.
It’s a season to forget for Packers fans, and if Rodgers decided to retire at the end of the year, it could be even worse in 2023.
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Aaron Rodgers Sounds Off on Poor Play vs. Titans