‘Emotional’ Rodgers on Precipice of Elusive Second Super Bowl
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Now’s the time. The pot of gold is at the end of the rainbow.
Since winning the Super Bowl in 2010, Aaron Rodgers quarterbacked a team that went 15-1 in 2011 and reached NFC Championship Games in 2014, 2016 and 2019.
Each of those teams failed to get to the Super Bowl, let alone win it. With a commanding 32-18 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday, Rodgers has the Green Bay Packers back in the NFC Championship Game. He might never get an opportunity this good to win that elusive second Super Bowl ring.
Serenaded by “MVP” chants by the nearly 8,500 fans in the stadium, Rodgers wasn’t going to lose a minute of savoring the moment.
“I’m just so happy for our guys,” he said. “Definitely a little emotional, just thinking about what we went through. It got me emotional with the crowd out there today, I’m just really happy about everything that happened today. We’ll have plenty of time to talk about next week’s opponent after tomorrow and Tuesday and Wednesday. I look forward to our conversation when that time comes.”
Greatness drives Rodgers. He’s about to become the sixth player in NFL history to win three MVP awards. However, he knows it’s about more than honors and stats. It’s about winning championships. One of next week’s potential matchups is against Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady. Brady won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots.
Rodgers has won only one. He’s no stranger to playoff heartbreak. There were overtime losses against Arizona in 2009 and 2015. The disaster at Seattle in 2014. The death of offensive coordinator Joe Philbin’s son in 2011. Jordy Nelson’s broken ribs in 2016. Of his eight playoff losses, the Packers gave up at least 37 points in five of them.
This year perhaps is different. First and foremost, Rodgers will finally get a championship game on the home turf. The early forecast for the 2 p.m. kickoff is for a high of 27. If that holds, it would be 12 degrees colder than it was on Saturday against the Rams – potentially a big deal considering the locales of the potential opponents. Even at less than 11 percent capacity against the Rams, the screaming and sign-banging fans made a difference.
“It means a lot,” Rodgers said. “Jordy and I talked about it years ago. I had a lot of starts in this league without being able to be a part of hosting the NFC Championship. I remember what it felt like in 2007, especially after we watched the Giants beat Dallas. Us and Dallas, we thought, were the two best teams in the NFC that year. Giants beat them and we felt really good about hosting and our chances. That was a really, really cold game, for sure. Hopefully, it’s a little colder than it was tonight. The fans were special, the energy was special tonight. There is a homefield advantage.”
In sports, there are windows of opportunity. For years, Rodgers has propped that window open. Coach Matt LaFleur replaced that window. But it’s not going to stay open forever.
In fact, this one might be ready to slam shut.
Rodgers is 37. Star running back Aaron Jones and All-Pro center are Corey Linsley are going to be free agents during an offseason in which a crashing salary cap has the Packers a projected $28 million over the cap. And then there’s the elephant of the room of April’s selection of Jordan Love. Will Rodgers even be back in 2021 or 2022 to make another run at a championship?
It’s not just Rodgers. Receiver Davante Adams and Linsley were parts of those NFC Championship losses in 2014, 2016 and 2019. Adams, who will be entering his final season under contract next year, is in the prime of his career but the uncertainty at quarterback could make this his last, best chance. And who knows where Linsley will be playing next season.
“We’ve kind of felt like that for [years],” Linsley said. “My rookie year (2014), those guys that had been here, they felt like it was that time. And you know, certain things happened. Whatever. But this year, we’re fortunate to have the game here. I think that obviously plays in our favor. For the guys that have been around here throughout those four championship games, the level of urgency is definitely heightened and the desire and everything. It’s not like it wasn’t there before, but this is a big one for all of us.”
