Aaron Rodgers Squandered His Talent Through Selfishness

Aaron Rodgers loses playoff games because he’s selfish.

This isn’t a critique on his political views. This is a critique on his leadership skills, and lack thereof.

I knew the 49ers were going to beat them in Lambeau when I saw that Rodgers had conducted a 30-minute phone interview with ESPN on the eve of the playoffs. I knew that because that’s not how winning quarterbacks act.

On Monday morning, Dan Orlovsky passionately explained why he had been such a huge Matt Stafford booster. It wasn’t merely because they had been teammates. It’s because Orlovsky saw Stafford acting like a leader for years for some very, very bad Detroit Lions teams.

He relayed the story of how Stafford would always take the blame after losses, even though it was never his fault. He said he would tell Stafford to stop doing that and how he was being unfair to himself. But Stafford didn’t stop taking the blame in Detroit. He was the quarterback, and he was the leader. For better or worse, the quarterback gets all the credit for wins and all the blame for losses. That’s how it works.

Except Aaron Rodgers never took the blame. It was always someone else’s fault. They lost the past two NFC Championship games because of coaching decisions. They weren’t winning Super Bowls because the General Manager hadn’t done his job. Year after year, there was always a reason the Packers kept coming up short, and that reason never ended up being the quarterback.

For years, that narrative held. There’s no doubt or argument that Aaron Rodgers is one of the most talented quarterbacks in the history of the sport. There’s also no doubt or argument that he’s one of the NFL’s greatest regular season quarterbacks, racking up numbers and stats that are almost impossible to comprehend.

However, when the lights are their brightest, Rodgers didn’t always live up to that reputation.

The two games he played against the 49ers this year shows the difference. In Week 3, Rodgers led one of the most spectacular final minute drives to win a game I’ve ever seen in my life. It almost defied description. The following morning, talking heads across the sports media spectrum were effusive in their praise, and rightly so. We witnessed an artist at work, painting a masterpiece.

The problem is it was September 26th. The games that count are played in January.

This past Saturday night, Rodgers played very, very poorly. There was no magic. There was no artist. There was a quarterback looking not only average, but downright bad at times.

It also came during the greatest weekend of playoff football in NFL history, littered with all-time great quarterback performances. All four quarterbacks shined on Sunday, with Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes in particular putting forth legendary efforts. Matt Stafford redefined his legacy. Even in defeat, Tom Brady brought his team back from a 27-3 deficit to even have a chance. All four covered themselves in glory.

But the quarterback that proved the most was Joe Burrow, delivering a performance that we’ve rarely if ever seen from Rodgers in the clutch. Burrow was pounded in the turf for 3+ hours, let down by a horrific offensive line. Burrow kept getting up. When the game was on the line, he made the throw he had to make to set up the winning field goal. Cincinnati had no right to win that game. They did.

On Saturday night, all Rodgers needed to do was score a second touchdown after an impressive opening drive. It never came. In fact, outside of one 49ers blown coverage right before halftime, the Packers offense did nothing for about 50 minutes of game action. Yes, the 49ers defense deserves credit, but Rodgers looked lost. Other than Davante Adams, he didn’t trust anyone except himself. He also let himself down.

Did I know Rodgers was going to play that poorly when I took the 49ers money line? Of course not. I only knew that Rodgers had once again put the spotlight on himself, and only himself, leading up to the game.

Whether you agree or disagree with his viewpoints – and my God, I hope you disagree – he revealed his lack of leadership by even conducting the ESPN interview in the first place. Can you ever remember a top quarterback choosing to make himself the controversial center of attention before a big game?

It revealed that he didn’t care. He didn’t care about his teammates. He didn’t care about his coaches. He didn’t care about the franchise. He didn’t care about the fans. He only cared about making a statement with the biggest megaphone possible.

Could you even imagine if a Black QB had done something similar? If Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson spent the night before a playoff game saying the President of the United States wasn’t rightfully elected?

For his entire career, Aaron Rodgers got a pass because he was great. On Saturday night, he wasn’t great, so he didn’t get a pass. Instead, he was rightly skewered by every corner of the country by people that were fed up with his arrogance, his selfishness, and his almost pathological need for attention.

Aaron Rodgers has always possessed every physical skill to be the greatest QB to ever play the game. He might’ve reached those heights if not for his lack of leadership.

We may be in for another long offseason of Aaron Rodgers talk, about whether he plays for the Packers or the Broncos or another team. At this point, I don’t care. We know how the story ends.

Aaron Rodgers will play at an MVP level for four months. When the next New Year arrives, he’ll crumble under the pressure. We’ve seen this movie for more than a decade now. I’m good.

I’d rather watch the new movies starring Allen, Mahomes, & Burrow.

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