PACK’S 12TH PLIGHT!
Rodgers’ season likely over, G.B. sent scrambling for new QB
MINNEAPOLIS — Walking gingerly to the sideline with his throwing shoulder throbbing in pain, Aaron Rodgers turned back toward the field and barked at Minnesota Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr.
Rodgers likely already knew that his season was in jeopardy after Barr’s hit broke his collarbone, and the fiery quarterback’s frustration boiled over.
Now the Green Bay Packers have to try to make sure their season as a whole doesn’t go down the drain with it.
Rodgers was knocked out of the 23-10 loss to the Vikings in the first quarter on Sunday with an injury that could cause him to miss the remainder of the season.
It’s a crushing blow to a team that entered the season with Super Bowl aspirations, optimism based primarily on the right arm of one of the game’s best quarterbacks.
“It’s devastating,” receiver Randall Cobb said. “No question about it. First and foremost, that is one of my closest friends, so to see him go down with that is tough. We still have to play football. We have a long season ahead of us to figure out what we are going to do.”
Brett Hundley, the only other quarterback on the roster outside of practice squad player Joe Callahan, was rushed into duty. He finished 18 of 33 for 157 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.
“Losing Aaron Rodgers speaks for itself,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. “In my opinion, he’s the best player in football. This is the ultimate team game. We need to be better with the 11 people on the field that we have, regardless of the phase that we’re in. Ultimately that’s my responsibility.”
Colin Kaepernick, who has had difficulty finding a job since becoming the face of league-wide demonstrations during the national anthem that protest social injustice, and Tony Romo, who joined CBS as an analyst after retiring from the Dallas Cowboys, could be outside options to fill in for Rodgers. But McCarthy said after the game he was not considering anything like that yet.
“Brett Hundley and Joe Callahan, that’s what we’re going with,” he said.
Despite several key injuries to the secondary, the Packers entered the game Sunday against their NFC North rivals at 4-1 after Rodgers engineered a game-winning touchdown drive to beat the Dallas Cowboys last week.
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer’s defense has always gotten after Rodgers in these tense matchups, and it happened again in the first quarter when Barr drove him into the turf after he got rid of a roll-out pass.
The impact did not appear to be that violent at first glance as Rodgers rolled through the hit. But it became apparent quickly that he was in considerable pain. He writhed on the turf as McCarthy argued for a roughing the passer penalty.
“I know Anthony Barr personally,” said Hundley, a fellow UCLA alum. “I wouldn’t imagine he’s a dirty player. I didn’t really get a good look at it.”
Rodgers rode a cart to the locker room for further tests and remained there throughout the first half.
He was initially deemed questionable, but the Packers announced after halftime that he would not return to the game.
“He’s the best in the game so I hate to see that for him,” Vikings safety Harrison Smith said.
BROWN, BEN BACK ON TOP
Antonio Brown stopped chucking Gatorade coolers for a moment to make a game-changing play for the Steelers Sunday.
And Ben Roethlisberger bounced back from a five-interception performance last week that ended with him questioning his future by going 17-of-25 for 252 yard to help the visiting Steelers hand Alex Smith and the Chiefs a 19-13 loss, Kansas City’s first defeat of the season.
Roethlisberger’s favorite target was Brown, who finished with eight catches for 155 yards, including a highlight reel one in the fourth quarter, and looked more like a team player by doling out high-fives on the sidelines.
WATSON FAR FROM ELEMENTARY
Houston’s rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson is setting NFL records left and right.
Watson threw for 225 yards and three touchdowns, becoming the first rookie in NFL history with at least three TD passes in three straight games, helping give the host Texans a 33-17 victory over the Browns.
Watson has thrown 15 TD passes this season, the most in NFL history by a rookie in a team’s first six games. It equals the number of TD throws Brock Osweiler had in 15 games last season.