In a day of great games, Aaron Rodgers saved the best for last.
Rodgers, a jazz artist playing on a football field, dragged the Packers back from a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit, on one leg, to the largest come-from-behind victory of his career. And he did it with the inevitability of the sun setting in the west.
There is nobody like Rodgers. He is an intoxicating blend of grace and guile; fearlessness and ferocity. No quarterback, not Brady nor Brees, inspires such fear in opposing defenders and their coaches. Any throw is possible at any time. We may not see his like again.
Things looked disastrous for Green Bay halfway through their season opener. The Bears were the superior team. They dominated the early goings, commanding a 17-0 lead at half-time. New star pass-rusher Khalil Mack took over the game, forcing a fumble, scoring on a pick-six and adding a sack. Matt Nagy’s opening script had Chicago’s misdirection offense marching down the field with ease.
Worse still for the Packers: Rodgers left the field after sustaining what appeared to be catastrophic knee injury. He was out for the rest of the game, surely. The rest of the season, maybe. “I just felt something in it,” Rodgers said after the game. “I was having a hard time putting weight on it.
His replacement, DeShone Kizer, fumbled a ball in the redzone and threw a pick-six to Mack in just six minutes of action. And then came the twist: a hobbled Rodgers emerged from the tunnel after the half ready to play. “The doc and I had a conversation,” Rodgers said. “We did the tests. I told him I was going back.”
Unable to play his normal game, Rodgers was forced to adapt. He played with more bounce and rhythm, unable to conjure his traditional magic tricks, escaping the pocket and launching strikes downfield. He was even called for his first intentional grounding since 2015, unable to break the tackle box and create offense all by himself.
No matter. The new, on-time, one-legged Rodgers was just as effective, despite the fact that he was hobbling between plays and was unable to put any weight on his left leg. He led four second-half scoring drives, finishing 17 of 23 for 273-yards, with three touchdowns.
TheRenderNFL (@TheRenderNFL)
Geronimo Allison touchdown reception pic.twitter.com/lRtZgQeZ9H
There are a handful of quarterbacks walking the earth who have the arm power, touch, and precision to make the kind of throw in the tweet above. There is only one who can do it off-platform, without a stable base.
No player in the NFL is more essential to his team than Rodgers. Without him, the Packers are a bottom-10 team. With Rodgers, they have legitimate championship aspirations.
“I told the guys at half-time I said, ‘If you shut them out, we’re going to win,’” Rodgers said, adding that he expects to play next week against the Vikings. And then he said what we all knew anyway: “That was pretty special.”
MVP of the week
Hands up if you had Ryan Fitzpatrick as the top performing quarterback in week one? No one? Just as I thought.
Fitzpatrick sliced and diced his way through the Saints’ defense, putting up a gaudy stat-line in a shootout win in New Orleans. The 35-year-old had one of the best games of his career, throwing for 417 yards, averaging over 14 yards per attempt, and picking up four touchdowns with no interceptions or sacks (he scored a rushing TD too).
Whispers that the Bucs may stick with Fitzpatrick even when Jameis Winston returns from his suspension in a few weeks are bound to pick up. I wouldn’t buy into them. This is the Fitzpatrick experience. He’s a brilliant spot-starter. Surround him with weapons, and he can do some damage. He’s tough, smart, and mobile enough to extend plays. Fitzpatrick was flawless on Sunday, but it never lasts. He eventually reverts to the Fitzpatrick mean: chucking interceptions.
Mike Evans and Chris Godwin form the best two-man receiving tandem in the NFC. Regardless of who lines up under center, the Bucs are going to churn out yardage through the air.
Video of the week
New season.
Same @Cheetah.He’s GONE. 91 yards to the HOUSE!
📺: CBS #ChiefsKingdom #Kickoff2018 pic.twitter.com/3rbw6Rea1y
Tyreek Hill torched the Chargers, living up to his Cheetah nickname. It’s hard to imagine that one player can be that much faster than everyone else on a field full of freakish athletes. Hill is.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid uses Hill shrewdly, always finding fresh ways to get his electric playmaker the ball in space. Hill opened the game’s scoring with a 91-yard punt return for a touchdown, his first touch of the season. He tacked on an extra pair of touchdowns and 169-yards on seven receptions.
Andy Reid dug into his bag of party tricks throughout the game. Reid uses more “college-style” designs within his offense than any other coach in the league. There are lots of moving parts, misdirection plays, and an emphasis on isolating and attacking individual defenders. No defender can keep up with Hill one-on-one. Good luck trying to stop the Mahomes-Hill connection this year.
Stat of the week
The Titans-Dolphins game in Miami – which was twice suspended due to weather – clocked in as the longest game in NFL history, per Elias Sports (7 hours, 8 mins). Attendees could have flown from Miami to London in that time. Those who stuck around were treated to a full half of Blaine Gabbert football. Yuck. At least there were a pair of kick return touchdowns to pique the interest.
Quote of the week
“I will take a look at the tape. It’s too early to decide” – Bills head coach Sean McDermott on whether Josh Allen or Nathan Peterman will start next week.
No. No, it is not. In Peterman’s three games as a starter, he has thrown one touchdown to seven interceptions, completed a godawful 38.1% of his throws, and averaged 49 yards per game. Forty-nine! Peterman’s passer rating during his starts has been 16.8. To put that into perspective: his total would more than double (39.8) if he just took the ball and threw it into the ground on every play.
Allen is a raw, under-cooked rookie. He’s most likely not ready. But even if he’s terrible, he can’t be worse than Peterman. The Bills should make a switch at quarterback early. This isn’t a playoff team: let Allen take his licks and learn. Give the rookie as many reps as possible this year to figure out whether he’s the guy of the future.
Elsewhere around the league
— Andrew Luck was as good as the Colts could have hoped for in his long-awaited return from a nagging shoulder injury. He finished the game throwing for 319 yards and a touchdown, completing more passes than in any single game in his career. How he did it was more important: Luck had plenty of zip on his fastball. If there were any nerves, it didn’t show. Luck was back to his swashbuckling best, moving around and creating plays. And he seemed to take hits (and get hit he did).
— How about this: 31 of the 53 players on the Browns roster are new to the team. The excitement in Cleveland is real. The team has real offensive firepower and a nasty, young defense. But the turnaround is still going to take time. That level of turnovers is virtually unheard of. It will be a while before this group of players coalesces into a consistent winner, even if they were a field-goal away from beating a strong Steelers team on Sunday.
— Phillip Dorsett became the 69th player Tom Brady has thrown a touchdown to as the Patriots beat the Texans. Brady is now one shy on Vinny Testaverde’s NFL record. The Patriots receiving corps is going to be just fine.
— Joe Flacco completed more passes (25) than Nathan Peterman threw for yards (24) on Sunday. Peterman wasn’t the only QB to disappoint. Sam Bradford struggled mightily for Arizona against Washington. Blaine Gabbert looked inadequate in relief duty for Marcus Mariota against Miami. All three performance should serve as tasty fodder for Colin Kaepernick in his continued legal case against the NFL and its owners.
— San Francisco got an up-and-down performance from Jimmy Garoppolo. The much-hyped quarterback showed flashes of brilliance throughout: that devastating release; fancy footwork; precision; that square jaw; and anticipation to all levels of the field. We didn’t see enough. The Vikings defense flustered Garoppolo all afternoon. He made some basic mistakes, consistently put the ball in harm’s way, and coughed up three interceptions.