Mixed emotions for Rodgers after Packers’ loss
For the fourth time in his acclaimed NFL career, Aaron Rodgers stood on the field Sunday in the wake of an NFC Championship Game.
For the third consecutive time, it was after a loss.
It was in Rodgers’ third season as the Packers’ starting quarterback in 2010 that the team won the fourth Super Bowl title in franchise history. The Packers have since fallen one game short of returning in January 2015 (Seattle), January 2017 (Atlanta) and on Sunday, losing 3720 to the 49ers.
And at 36, Rodgers acknowledged, each miss carries an added significance.
“It’s a little raw right now, for sure,” Rodgers said Sunday. “But it definitely hurts I’d say a little more than early in the career just because you realize just how difficult it is to get to this spot.”
In 2018, the Packers finished 691, just their second time logging a losing record with Rodgers playing a full season. In 2019, with a new head coach in Matt LaFleur and retooled roster, they went 133 and seized the No. 2 seed in the NFC.
“With all the changes (last) offseason, all the installation of the new system and new program, to get to this point, you felt like it was something special, because it didn’t really make sense,” Rodgers said. “We weren’t picked by most people to win our division and we found a way to not only do that but win a home playoff game and get to this spot.
“Kind of felt like it was meant to be almost. So that is a little disappointing. Then you realize, you know, I don’t have the same number of years ahead of me as I do behind me. So it’s slightly more disappointing.”
In his 15th NFL season, Rodgers exhibited few signs of slowing. He passed for 4,002 yards and 26 touchdowns with four interceptions albeit with a thin supporting cast. Receiver Davante Adams led Green Bay with nine catches for 138 yards Sunday; no other player had more than 59 yards.
Rodgers, still, expressed optimism about the state of the Packers, saying that Sunday’s loss felt “a lot different” than the 2016 NFC title game because of the team’s makeup. He was realistic, meanwhile, when asked to gauge the gap between the Packers and the NFC champion 49ers — who outscored Green Bay 500 in the first half of two meetings this season.
“It looks pretty big,” Rodgers said. “They got us a couple of times.
“But I don’t think it’s that big. I think we’re really close. I think we’re just a little more consistent performance away from consistently playing with these guys.”
Rodgers finished 31for39 for 326 yards Sunday. But he had 65 passing yards at halftime as the Packers trailed 270 and was involved in two turnovers on consecutive firsthalf drives.
Down 170 in the second quarter, the Packers were driving when center Corey Linsley snapped a ball that Rodgers failed to grip. The 49ers recovered and drove for a field goal.
“I’m not sure if I pulled out too early or the snap was short,” Rodgers said. “It’s a bad feeling.”
On the Packers’ next possession, Rodgers’ throw for Geronimo Allison was intercepted by Emmanuel Moseley, leading to another 49ers touchdown.
“I threw the ball a little behind him,” Rodgers said. “It wasn’t a great throw, but we just weren’t really on the same page, either.
“I just think the way things went today was kind of a microcosm of our season — the inefficiency caught up to us a few times and put us in rough spots.”
The end result for Rodgers was all too familiar. In reflecting on the season, though, the Cal alum said: “This one will always be special, because it became fun again.”
“I said it last week — the window is open for us,” Rodgers said. “And that’s the exciting thing. It doesn’t make this feeling any easier. But that is very exciting moving forward.”