Bills still wary of Rodgers
Packers enter as biggest underdog of QB’s career
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Bills safety Micah Hyde and receiver Jake Kumerow know Aaron Rodgers well enough to appreciate how much the Packers quarterback’s words resonate in Green Bay.
So when Rodgers defiantly insisted the Packers’ playoff hopes, at 3-4, remain realistic despite a third consecutive loss and facing the formidable challenge of traveling to play the AFC-leading Bills (5-1) on Sunday night, the two former Packers took serious note.
“I’ve been around him before, and I know that when his back is against the wall, he just rallies them,” said Hyde, who rejoined the Bills this week in a quasicoaching role after sustaining a season-ending neck injury last month.
“You can’t take him lightly,” added Kumerow. “You’ve seen him. He’s capable of anything.”
Well, not so much this year as of yet.
The Packers are off to their worst start to a season in four years under coach Matt LaFleur, and Rodgers — the two-time reigning NFL MVP — is experiencing difficulty overseeing an injury-depleted offense that has missed his favorite target after Davante Adams was traded to the Raiders this offseason.
While Rodgers ranks 10th in the league with 1,597 yards passing and is tied for sixth with 11 touchdowns, the offense’s production has dipped during the three-game skid. After averaging 377.5 yards in winning three of four, the Packers are down to 270 yards in their last three.
What’s more of a concern is how the three losses came in outings in which they led twice and were tied once at halftime. That includes a 23-21 loss at Washington last Sunday in which the Packers led 14-10 after two quarters.
Not only did they manage a season-worst 232 yards of offense against the Commanders, they went 0-for-6 on third down, the first time the Packers didn’t have a single successful third-down conversion since 1999.
Rodgers chalked it up to too many mental errors, questioned whether some players — without naming who — should be benched and blamed himself.
“We all need to be on the details, and that includes me,” he said.
He relished the challenge that comes with the Packers being 10½-point underdogs, the largest spread in a game Rodgers has started in his 18-year career.
“I love it,” he said. “I hope we embrace that role because it’s probably not going to be like this for a while.”
The Packers face a buzz saw of a Bills team that’s leading the league in total yards and yards passing gained, fewest yards and points allowed and interceptions (10).
The Bills are rested after their bye and coming off their most complete victory of the season. Josh Allen threw the go-ahead touchdown pass with 64 seconds left, and the defense sealed a 24-20 win at Kansas City 13 seconds later with Taron Johnson’s interception of Patrick Mahomes.
“It gives you that confidence that you could win in more than one fashion,” receiver Stefon Diggs said of the Bills, who have twice rallied to win when trailing in the final two minutes of regulation this year. “It doesn’t always have to be pretty. It could be ugly. But I’ll take an ugly win over a pretty loss any day.”
The Packers have won their last 13 regular-season prime-time games. It’s the longest such winning streak for any NFL team since at least 2000.
Rodgers has been particularly effective at night. The four-time MVP has thrown for 45 touchdowns and just four interceptions in 18 night games since 2019. The streak began after a 37-8 loss at San Francisco on Nov. 24, 2019.