Aaron Rodgers Has Strong Message for His Doubters After Packers' Sunday Night Win
Aaron Rodgers is officially back. On Sunday night, the Green Bay Packers quarterback led the team to a win over the San Francisco 49ers, and they have now won their last two games after a brutal loss to the New Orleans Saints to start the year. Rodgers recently appeared on The Pat McAfee Show and had a message for those who doubt his desire for the game of football or for the Packers.
"Well, it's a rough night, I guess, for some of those 'he doesn't care' campers," Rodgers said on McAfee's show Tuesday, per USA Today. "I love the game, I love competing. There's nothing like it. There's nothing like having the ball in your hands with a chance to win the game, late in the game. That's what we live for. That's what we dream about. We don't dream about kneel-downs at the end of games. We dream about ... we got to go down and put the ball in position to either win it with a field goal or win it with a touchdown. That's what we dream about."
Late in the game, the Packers were trailing the San Francisco 49ers 28-27. With just 37 seconds left and no timeouts, Rodgers drove the Packers 42 years to set up a 51-yard game-winning field goal by Mason Crosby. This was a big win for Rodgers as he grew up a 49ers and thought he was going to play for them in 2005 when he was eligible for the draft.
"I was a San Fran fan my entire young life, so it always is a special place for me to come back to northern California, but I don't need any extra motivation or inspiration," Rodgers said. "It was a measuring stick for our football team, I think to see how we matched up against another really good football team and I'm proud of our guys."
Rodgers admitted to contemplating retirement when he spoke to reporters during training camp. He also thought was he was going to be traded to a team like the 49ers since the Packers drafted Jordan Love in the first round last year. But right now Rodgers has the Packers back in the mix of things, and if things continue to go well, the Packers have a chance to play in the NFC Championship game for the third consecutive year.