Inside Aaron Rodgers’ incredible finish to 2021 season
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers contracted COVID-19 on Nov. 2, missed a game in Kansas City, fractured his left pinky toe in quarantine and labored through his return to the field against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, Nov. 14.
Since then, Rodgers has been on a run that rivals any in his career, and he’s likely to win a fourth NFL MVP award because of it.
Over the final seven games of 2021, Rodgers completed 72.0 percent of his passes, threw 20 touchdown passes without an interception and produced a passer rating of 124.4. He threw multiple touchdown passes without an interception in all seven games, including three or more touchdown passes in four of the seven games.
Over the last five games of 2021, Rodgers has multiple touchdown passes, a completion percentage over 70.0 and a passer rating over 110.0 in all five games.
Rodgers ended the season ranked first in the NFL in touchdown percentage (7.0), interception percentage (0.8), passer rating (111.9), QBR (68.8) and adjusted net yards per attempt (8.0). He led the league in all the same categories last season during his MVP season.
Between Weeks 11-18, Rodgers was the highest-graded passer overall at Pro Football Focus. He had the position’s highest “big time throw” percentage and lowest “turnover worthy play” percentage.
Over the final five games, Rodgers didn’t have a single play PFF deemed worthy of a turnover.
Once again, Rodgers finished as the No. 1 quarterback by DVOA and EPA per play.
He was the NFL’s No. 1 passer from a clean pocket by passer rating, and he threw 29 touchdown passes and just one interception from clean pockets (including 11 touchdown passes and zero interceptions over the final seven games.)
His completion percentage over 70.0 down the stretch is even more impressive considering seven of his passes were dropped and 12 others were thrown away.
Maybe most importantly of all, Rodgers put up the crazy numbers while playing behind an offensive line missing four preferred starters for much of the stretch. David Bakhtiari played all of 27 snaps in the finale, Josh Myers played all of 32 snaps in the finale, Elgton Jenkins was lost for the year midway through Week 11, and Billy Turner missed the final four games. With backups everywhere in front of him, Rodgers negated the absences with quick, decisive decision-making and an expert’s knowledge base of the offense and defense pre-snap. He ran the highly detailed scheme with precision. He was in command always. Rodgers was the game’s greatest game manager, the ultimate compliment.
Rodgers accomplished it all while fighting through the lingering pain in his fractured pinky toe and practicing only sporadically during the week.
The Packers weren’t invincible during the stretch, finishing 5-2 in the final seven games. But in a loss in Minnesota, Rodgers threw four touchdown passes, including the game-tying score late in the fourth quarter, and in Detroit on Sunday, he played just two quarters.
Rodgers and the Packers were still more than good enough to clinch the NFC North title and the No. 1 seed in the NFC over the final two months of the season.
None of it would’ve been possible without Rodgers, who masterfully navigated all the injury issues along the offensive line and then caught fire down the stretch as the defense began to show cracks in the foundation.
Rodgers won the 2020 MVP by lighting the world on fire for 16 games. He did it a different way in 2021. It took no less skill and was no less impressive. He used every tool he’s developed over his Hall of Fame career to guide the Packers through the minefield of injuries and adversity and put Matt LaFleur’s team in a terrific position as a Super Bowl contender entering the postseason.
Aaron Rodgers engineered one of the best stretches of his career to end 2021 and will almost certainly get another MVP award for his efforts.
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