Former Champion QB Says Packers Are Super Bowl Pretenders

Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

Getty Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers looks on from the sidelines during the second quarter against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on January 09, 2022 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)

The Green Bay Packers finished the 2021 regular season tied for the best record in the NFL, but one former Super Bowl-winning quarterback is still not a believer.

Troy Aikman, who won three rings as the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys back in the mid-90s before joining Joe Buck in the Fox NFL broadcast booth, said last week that he does not consider the Packers favorites to emerge from the NFC. Aikman made the comments while appearing on the Adam Schefter Podcast Tuesday, January 4.

“I don’t think there is a real frontrunner in the NFC,” Aikman said. “I know a lot of people would say Green Bay, but I’ve covered a lot of Packers games and they’ve played some pretty average football teams and barely got out of those games with a win. I think Aaron Rodgers, of course, if he’s not their quarterback they lose a lot more of those games.”


Aikman Likes Cowboys Chances to Win Super Bowl

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott

GettyDallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.

Aikman’s comments on the Packers, and the NFC in general, came in the context of a question from Schefter about the Cowboys’ chances to go all the way this postseason. The former Dallas signal caller spoke more optimistically about the franchise for which he played his entire career than he did about the Packers.

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“I think they’ve got a really good team, they haven’t played great,” Aikman said, “but I think they’re a really talented team.”

“But I think it is wide open in the NFC,” he continued. “Regardless of whatever you think of the way that Dallas has played here over the last six weeks, I think you can say the same things about [the] Arizona [Cardinals], Tampa Bay [Buccaneers], Los Angeles [Rams] and even the Green Bay Packers. So I think Dallas, this team has a good feel. I think [head coach] Mike McCarthy has done a good job, but I think [quarterback] Dak Prescott really sets the tone. They’ve got playmakers on defense. I think that this is as good a year for them to go and win it all as they’ve had.”


Packers Are Odds-On Favorites to Win NFC, Super Bowl

Aaron Rodgers

GettyQuarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers are the No. 1 seed in the NFC Playoffs.

In contrast to Aikman’s opinion are the actual Super Bowl odds, atop which Green Bay sits alone.

The Packers are the most likely team to win the championship this postseason, per Odds Shark via lines that were provided by the offshore sportsbook Bovada. Green Bay is +350 to hoist the Lombardi Trophy this February, meaning a $100 bet on the Packers would earn the bettor $350 profit should Green Bay end up winning it all.

Second behind the Packers on the list are the Kansas City Chiefs (+425). They are followed by the Bucs (+750), the Buffalo Bills (+800), and the Tennessee Titans (+800). The Cowboys (+1100) have the seventh best odds out of 14 playoff teams to win the Super Bowl.

Green Bay (13-4) will not play Wildcard Weekend after winning the top seed in the NFC, which also earned them the only bye in the conference. They will play the lowest seeded team that advances to the Divisional Round of the playoffs.

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