Aaron Rodgers has been critical of his teammates at times over the past several months, but the Green Bay Packers star was not pointing the finger at anyone but himself following Thursday night’s loss to the Tennessee Titans.
Rodgers has had some of the best games of his career in frosty Green Bay conditions. That was not the case on Thursday. Rodgers went 24/39 for 227 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. The numbers were not terrible, but he had several noticeably inaccurate throws that killed drives. One of the worst came when the Packers were trailing by 10 in the fourth quarter. Rodgers missed a wide-open Sammy Watkins over the middle of the field on 3rd-and-12. He seemed extremely annoyed, likely with himself.
Rodgers’ Defense gets him a turnover and he responds by missing a wide open Watkins with full protection on 3rd & 12. I’ve been told this is the most talented quarterback ever. pic.twitter.com/4h1uEOVmnq
— GraniteSTATEment (@Granite603) November 18, 2022
After Green Bay’s 27-17 loss, Rodgers told reporters that he did not play well enough to give his team a chance.
“I’ve got to throw the ball better than I did tonight,” Rodgers said, via Jeremy Layton of the New York Post. “Not a lot of margin for error for us and definitely not against a team that gives you some opportunities. We’ve got to have those plays.”
Rodgers has been dealing with a thumb injury over the past month. There have been times when it appeared that was bothering him, but he said it is not an excuse for his performance against the Titans.
“I felt like fundamentally I was in a good spot. I just didn’t have the same type of consistent grip and ball coming out the same way,” Rodgers said. “I threw a lot of kind of wobblers tonight. There was some wind. Just missed a few throws I should have had. Definitely the one to Sammy and the one to Allen (Lazard).”
Part of the issue for Rodgers is that he has not been comfortable in the Packers’ offense all season. He was so upset with the playcalling in last week’s win over the Dallas Cowboys that he was seen shouting at head coach Matt LaFleur at one point (video here).
If Rodgers does not trust the offense around him and is dealing with discomfort in his throwing hand, that is a recipe for failure. Those factors have almost certainly contributed to Green Bay’s 4-7 record.
