
GREEN BAY — Even as the victories piled up, Aaron Rodgers’ critics chirped.
Was the Green Bay Packers quarterback finally showing his age? Had a career’s worth of injuries eroded his skills? Had he lost his legendary accuracy? Was he a poor fit for the quick-rhythm offensive system installed by first-year coach Matt LaFleur? Would he and LaFleur collaborate or clash over the new scheme?
The body-language police in the national media had ready answers for all those questions, especially when the Packers offense kept misfiring during the early stages of the season, but Rodgers kept getting better by the week and Sunday at Lambeau Field he answered any and all critics in the most emphatic way possible.
He achieved perfection.
OK, so he was only perfect in the eyes of NFL statisticians. But Rodgers’ 158.3 passer rating — the highest mark possible — in the Packers’ 42-24 rout of the Oakland Raiders showed that he can still fling the football as well or better than anyone and that he and LaFleur might well be forming a harmonious partnership, one that could carry the Packers, now 6-1 on the season, back to the top of the NFL.
The fact that Rodgers completed 25 of 31 passes for 429 yards and five touchdowns while throwing to a bunch of aging tight ends and inexperienced wide receivers in the absence of No. 1 wide receiver Davante Adams only goes to show how comfortable he is getting in LaFleur’s system. It was the first time in Packers history that a quarterback achieved a 158.3 rating and it eclipsed his personal best of 155.4 set 10 years ago against the Cleveland Browns.
“The dude was perfect today, right? A perfect passer rating,” fullback Danny Vitale said. “I think Coach said that’s the first time that’s ever happened here. Pretty dang cool, man. That’s pretty awesome. When we have guys down, we know what he can do. Everybody knows what he’s capable of. It’s good to see that come to fruition.”
The best part was that it came to fruition within the parameters of LaFleur’s radically altered offense. Behind near-perfect pass protection, Rodgers used all of the field, all of his receivers and all of his skills.
He delivered the ball quickly and decisively on short routes. He completed shot plays down the field. He made several of his patented on-the-move throws. He even delivered several balls as he was getting drilled by defenders. Oh, and he ran for a touchdown, too.
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