Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers are sitting in a prime position just through the halfway point of the 2021 season. Green Bay is 8-2 and in the No. 1 spot in the NFC. They are in the driver’s seat courtesy of their Week 8 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday Night Football.
The Packers have been arguably the best team in the NFL this season, bouncing back in a major way after they were blown out in Week 1 by the New Orleans Saints. Since then, the only loss they have suffered came in Week 9 against the Kansas City Chiefs, on the road, without Rodgers under center.
Rodgers missed that game for the Packers because he contracted COVID-19 and it was revealed that he was not vaccinated. It caused a bit of a firestorm for him, but he picked up right where he left off in his return in Week 10 against the Seattle Seahawks.
Rodgers threw for 292 scoreless yards with one interception but did enough to help lead the team to a 17-0 victory. Rodgers will be challenged to carry the load the next week or two as starting running back Aaron Jones injured his knee. A.J. Dillon is an excellent backup, but Rodgers could be counted on to carry the offense even more as long as Jones is out of the lineup.
The game this week against division rival Minnesota Vikings will lead into a monster matchup with the Los Angeles Rams in Week 12. That Week 12 matchup with the Rams could be the deciding factor in which team gets home-field advantage throughout the postseason. If Green Bay wins that game, they will have the tiebreaker over both NFC West teams and control their destiny to hold onto the No. 1 seed.
Earning the No. 1 seed would give the Packers their best chance of winning another Super Bowl with Rodgers leading the way. While Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were able to make the trip to Lambeau Field last season and pick up the win, that is a tough road for anyone to travel.
Earning the top seed in the conference and having the road to the Super Bowl go through Lambeau Field would be a huge advantage for the Packers. They are well-positioned to make a deep run in the postseason again with Rodgers leading the way.
Despite all of the uncertainty about his future, Aaron Rodgers will be motivated to get back to and win another Super Bowl to show the Packers that they were planning for his exit a lot earlier than they should have been.
