As Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers used his bag of tricks against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, another "Magic" couldn't help but take notice.
As the Packers QB started to dismantle the Eagles' defense en route to a second consecutive 50-point output, Magic Johnson took to Twitter to heap praise on Rodgers via a lofty comparison to fellow Pro Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Bird.
Aaron Rodgers reminds me of my good friend and rival Larry Bird. Aaron & Larry have similar qualities.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) November 16, 2014
Both Aaron and Larry are great leaders, both are competitive & most importantly make their teammates better, all while making it look easy!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) November 16, 2014
So the highest compliment I can give Aaron Rodgers, the best QB in the NFL, is to compare him to 3x NBA Champion Larry Bird!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) November 16, 2014
Bird and Johnson have been linked since the 1979 NCAA championship game and throughout their NBA careers -- as their rivalry was the key storyline in the struggle between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers during the 1980s.
Rogers threw for 341 yards and three touchdowns in the Packers' 53-20 victory, while captaining a balanced attack that jumped to a 30-6 lead by halftime.
Since telling fans to "R-E-L-A-X" after a Week 3 loss to the Detroit Lions, Rodgers has guided the Packers to six wins in seven games. In that span, he has averaged 293 yards per game and has 23 touchdown passes and just two interceptions.
He also has extended his streak to 322 passes at Lambeau Field since his last interception there -- an NFL record for consecutive passes at home without an interception, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The previous mark was 288 by Tom Brady at Gillette Stadium (2002-04).
"This is not easy," Rodgers said after the game. "There's a lot of preparation that goes into it. It takes 11 guys to win, to do the job to make something like that happen."