RENTON, Wash. – It’s not difficult to find an Aaron Rodgers connection when thinking about the Seahawks. It was Rodgers who was behind center for the Packers during Seattle’s historic comeback in the 2014 NFC Championship Game. It was Rodgers who knocked the Seahawks out of the playoffs in the 2019 divisional round.
It’s just speculation, but there was also plenty of chatter that the Seahawks had an eye on Rodgers this offseason after they traded quarterback Geno Smith. And on Sunday in Pittsburgh, Seattle will become the first team to have faced Rodgers as the signal caller for three different teams (the Packers, Jets and Steelers).
After a 17-13 loss at the hands of the 49ers on Sunday – a game San Francisco gave the Seahawks every chance to win – Seattle is at risk of falling to 0-2 and morphing into desperation mode.
And though Steelers receiver DK Metcalf facing his old team after demanding a trade this offseason is the biggest storyline, the biggest problem Seattle faces is Rodgers. Yes, he is 41. Yes, he is coming off what might be the least productive season of his career. Yes, his $13.65 million contract is on the paltry end for starting QBs in the NFL.
But don’t for a second think he isn’t dangerous.
“His arm talent, the quarterback ability is there, but Aaron Rodgers the operator is second to none. He’s on his game, and he knows everything, so you have to assume that going in and not a lot of tricking going on,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. “We’re going to have to win our one-on-ones to have a good game on defense. We’re going to have to play great run defense and in the pass game, we’re going to have to win our one-on-one battles.”
Rodgers’ statistics with the Jets last season were a long way from stellar and even further from his standard. The four-time NFL MVP with the best career passer rating in league history completed just 63% of his passes, accumulated 3,897 yards and had 28 touchdowns against 11 interceptions.
Serviceable upon first glance, but his 6.7 yards per attempt were 27th among quarterbacks who played at least 10 games, and his 90.5 passer rating was 21st.
That said, he was on the incessantly victory-challenged Jets. And he was coming off an Achilles injury he suffered in the first game of the 2023 season. A stat deflation would be expected for most in such a situation, which makes you wonder if his performance Sunday was more reflective what’s to come with his new team.
In a 34-32 win over the Jets, Rodgers went 22 for 30 with 244 passing yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. In posting a 136.7 passer rating, the former cheesehead looked like he was re-establishing himself as the big cheese.
Nobody is Tom Brady, but Rodgers might be the closest thing we saw from that generation (with apologies to Peyton Manning). And remember, Brady had a couple of down years before exploding in Tampa Bay at 43 years old.
Of course, one of Rodgers’ primary assets in his younger days was his legs. That scrambling ability has waned. Seahawks defensive tackle Leonard Williams – candidly, not disrespectfully – pointed that out Wednesday.
“Aaron still has an arm. He can still make all the throws in the world. But when it comes to making plays on his feet, I just think he’s not the same as he was when he was younger,” Williams said. “So for us to just (get) to the spot, get in his face, get hits on him as much as possible, and just wearing him down.”
Williams’ finest play of last season came when he dropped back in coverage vs. the Jets in the first half, intercepted a Rodgers pass, then took it 92 yards to the end zone to give his team a three-score lead. On Wednesday, he revealed that Aaron told him “Merry Christmas” that day at halftime.
Don’t expect anything gift-wrapped Sunday. The Steelers are 2 1/2-point favorites over the Seahawks, and you have to think that track record behind center is part of the reason.
In Sam Darnold, Seattle has a QB who’s had one great season in a seven-year career. In Rodgers, the Steelers have a QB who raises eyebrows anytime he’s not great.
Rodgers is getting older, but with age comes wisdom. The Seahawks sleeping on him would be anything but wise.