Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is 40 years old and has spent half of his life playing in the NFL. This season marks the beginning of Rodgers' era with the New York Jets, take two. In honor of his longevity, we wanted to look back at the 40 best games of Rodgers' career.
To determine Rodgers' most valuable games, we needed a stat that balances efficiency and volume. We also needed a control for when Rodgers beat up on bad defenses compared to when he shined against the top defenses, and we wanted to acknowledge that NFL passing numbers are higher now than they were when Rodgers became the starter for the Green Bay Packers in 2008. That's where my DYAR (defense-adjusted value above replacement) metric comes in.
DYAR is based on DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) -- which rates the success on every play compared to a league-average baseline, then adjusts for situation and opponent -- and compares QBs to replacement-level options. We also factored in Rodgers' rushing numbers.
Where does Rodgers' epic 2010 divisional round game against the Falcons land? What about his six-touchdown domination of the Bears in 2014? Let's start the countdown from No. 40 to No. 1 with a narrow victory over the 49ers -- who also happen to be Rodgers' Week 1 "Monday Night Football" opponent (8:20 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC/ESPN+).
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Rodgers' 40 best games
Rodgers' five worst games
40. 2009 Week 11: GB 30, SF 24
(159 DYAR)
Stats: 32-of-45, 344 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
The Packers easily controlled this game, taking a 23-3 lead at halftime and a 30-10 advantage after a Ryan Grant 1-yard rushing touchdown with 11:05 left. The 49ers made it close with two late scores, in part because Rodgers took a sack from Manny Lawson on third-and-2 with 9:11 left that gave the 49ers two drives in quick succession. But on the final Green Bay drive, Rodgers converted a third-and-2 with a pass to Jermichael Finley, then converted a quarterback sneak on third-and-1 to ice the game. Rodgers' connection with Greg Jennings was strong, as he led all Packers receivers with 126 yards and a touchdown.