GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Here's when Aaron Rodgers knew he had a chance for this type of a season (and no, it wasn't on the night of April 23 when the Green Bay Packers traded up to take quarterback Jordan Love):

It was an August afternoon when few even noticed or realized what had happened.

Rodgers made hundreds of throws during the coronavirus-shortened training camp this past summer but one in particular might have been key to where the 37-year-old sits right now -- on the cusp of a third MVP and with the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs within reach.

"I remember almost the throw that for me just kind of turned everything for me in training camp," Rodgers said Wednesday.

It was what Rodgers called a "read-stop." He faked a hitch and then threw a "laser" -- his word -- to Marquez Valdes-Scantling on a 20-yard route. And if he remembered correctly, it was to his left.

"That, to me, gave me a lot of confidence that the things I was thinking about and working on and visualizing could come to fruition," Rodgers said. "Now you never know once the live bullets start going how you're going to play, but I think as far as training camp goes, that was an important day for me. And a lot of things changed for me as far as my balance, my rhythm, my timing going forward."

Other factors have been at play. There's the natural comfort that Rodgers would come to feel in Year 2 of coach Matt LaFleur's offense. Rodgers also has discussed several times this season about his concentration on lower-body strength because he has long believed that legs are the key to a quarterback's longevity.

There's also an inner peace that Rodgers referred to back in training camp and has referenced several times since but has not expounded upon.

But until now, he had never mentioned the throw to Valdes-Scantling.

"It may be surprising to hear that one throw could do that, but a lot of times it's just something little -- whether it's in your personal life or professional life -- that can kind of take you on a new course trajectory," Rodgers said. "That throw that day was that for me this year and gave me a lot of confidence moving forward that the work I was putting in and the things I was thinking about in training camp could really translate to the regular season."

Rodgers wasn't the only who recognized the moment in real time.

"That was one of the routes that we had kind of been pushing for a while," offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said. "We pushed it last year some, and it didn't really make a big showing. We kind of amped it up more in the offseason as we talked to him about it. When it did happen, I do remember being like, ‘Oh my gosh, he just hit it,' and how beautiful it was from the standpoint of his footwork, his action and how wide open it was and how MVS got it.

"It was one of those ‘Aha!' moments when you're like, 'Oh if we can get this one, there's a lot of things we can do off of it.'"

Rodgers' next touchdown pass will be his 40th of the season. It would be his third career 40-touchdown year, which would be the most in NFL history. He's already had nine games with at least three touchdown passes and no interceptions, the most in a single season in NFL history, according to Elias Sports Bureau. And he's had three straight three-TD, no-interception games heading into Saturday against the Carolina Panthers (8:15 p.m. ET, NFL Network) at Lambeau Field.

This after what many considered an un-Rodgers-like couple of seasons. Even though the Packers went 13-3 and lost to the 49ers in the NFC title game, Rodgers threw only 26 touchdowns (one more than in 2018) and posted a 62% completion rate for the second straight year.

"I knew it was coming just because I see the look in his eye," Packers receiver Davante Adams said. "Honestly, depending on what look I saw in his eye or anything else, I honestly knew it was coming just because I know the type of guy he is and how he would respond, not just based on his play last year and maybe wanting to play a little bit better than that, but how we left off with a sour taste in our mouth after that Niner game, and some of the other games.

"Even if we would have won that game, I think some of the other games we had during the season, we had a pretty successful season, but there were some throws I'm sure and some games that he wishes he could just have back. Knowing what type of competitor he is, I guess I knew far ahead of time."

With three games to play, Rodgers might be the front-runner for the MVP, an award he's won twice (for the 2011 and 2014 seasons).

"There's not many guys that have won three, so that would definitely mean a lot," Rodgers said. "I feel like I've been in the conversation a number of years outside of the two that I've won. We're talking about in '12 when [Adrian Peterson] went nuts against us in the last game of the year. I had a pretty good year that year. Obviously in ‘16 we made a run and led the league in passing touchdowns. Didn't really get a sniff for some reason that year. I definitely felt like I was in the conversation.

"It's nice to be back in the conversation. ... It'd be something that's usually on the preseason goal list and it's nice to be in the conversation."