The pressure that comes with being the No. 1 seed in the playoffs speaks for itself.
But when added playoff failures from years past are tacked on, the spotlight is even brighter.
That’s the case for the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers heading into their NFC divisional-round matchup against the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night.
The Packers are 39-10 in the regular season over the last three seasons and have played in each of the last two NFC Championship Games, but have fallen short in both.
They lost to the San Francisco 49ers 37-20 in 2019-20 and lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-26 in 2020-21.
Now, with the road to the Super Bowl once again going through Lambeau Field, Shannon Sharpe believes that a Super Bowl appearance isn’t enough for the Rodgers and the Pack, but a win is needed to solidify this three-year run of excellence in the regular season.
He detailed why another Super Bowl win could solidify Rodgers’ legacy on “Undisputed.”
“I’m not so sure that he’s not a top-five quarterback already,” Sharpe said. “But I can assure you this: If he were to win another Super Bowl, it’s hard to keep him out of the top five.”
Rodgers is the reigning NFL MVP and one of the favorites to win the award this season. He is already a three-time league MVP, and a fourth win would put him in second place behind five-time winner Peyton Manning.
But the sentiment is, Rodgers has some recent playoff demons to overcome in order to cement his place among the all-time great quarterbacks, considering the fact that since winning the Super Bowl in 2010, Rodgers has lost four NFC Championship Games.
In the 2014-15 NFC Championship Game, he finished 19-for-34 passing for 178 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions (55.8 passer rating) in a 28-22 overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks. In the 2017 NFC Championship Game, he was 27-for-45 passing for 287 yards and threw three TDs and one pick (91.6 passer rating) in a 44-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
Two seasons ago, in that 37-20 loss to S.F., Rodgers finished 31-for-39 passing with 326 yards, two TDs and two INTs (97.2 passer rating), and last season, he went 33-for-48 passing for 346 yards, three TDs and one pick (101.6 passer rating) in Green Bay’s 31-26 loss to Tampa Bay.
Despite the pressure facing Rodgers’ charge, Colin Cowherd just can’t see the legendary QB losing, which he detailed on “The Herd.”
“He’s 0-3 against San Francisco, but I can’t see [Rodgers losing],” Cowherd said. “At home, coming off a bye. [Jimmy] Garoppolo is not healthy, Nick Bosa might not be, Fred Warner is limping. Green Bay is finally healthy. I cannot envision Monday’s show after Aaron loses on Saturday night.”
At age 38, if Rodgers chooses not to follow the Tom Brady model, conventional wisdom says his best days are behind him.
That means that on Saturday, it would behoove him to have one of his best days in recent memory, with an elusive second Super Bowl in sight – again.
