National Football League

Aaron Rodgers, Packers running out of excuses after loss to Commanders

Updated Oct. 23, 2022 9:20 p.m. ET

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By Carmen Vitali
FOX Sports NFC North Writer

What else is there to say about the Green Bay Packers?

They're riding a three-game losing streak in which they've lost to the Washington Commanders, New York Jets and New York Giants. While the latter two teams have far outperformed their preseason expectations, this game in Washington was supposed to get the Packers back on track. Quarterback Carson Wentz was out. Taylor Heinicke was in. And Green Bay was going to convince us that consternation and concern about their slow start to the season was for naught. They were still the Packers, and they would figure it out.

Now, I'm not so sure.

Green Bay didn't convert a third down all game. It's the first time in Aaron Rodgers' tenure that's happened. You might say that they had an opportunity to win the game near its end, ultimately falling by only a two-point margin, but even when the Packers held a lead, they didn't quite feel like they were in control.

"We gotta coach better, we gotta play better, we gotta execute better," said head coach Matt LaFleur after the game. "It's just not good enough."

And yet, in a total offensive collapse, when perhaps all fans were looking for was some accountability out of the team's on-field leader — it wasn't there.

Wide receiver Allen Lazard and running back Aaron Jones were the team's two leading skill players, combining for over 100 yards and two touchdowns (both from Jones). Both those players were absolved from blame as a result. But players such as Romeo Doubs (who didn't catch any of the four targets thrown his way) and Amari Rodgers (who fumbled a costly punt return off which Washington scored three points) weren't so lucky.

"Outside of those two guys [Jones and Lazard] there's too many mental mistakes," quarterback Aaron Rodgers said after the game. "I talked about simplification last week, I don't really know where to go when it comes to that. There has to be something inside that's an accountability for performance, where we're just having way too many mental mistakes."

"We didn't run the ball particularly well, didn't catch it particularly well," he said.

Notice there was no mention of whether he threw the ball particularly well.

Even as Rodgers goes on to address his performance, saying he didn't "move a whole lot" to extend plays until the last drive, it still seems a little backhanded. Having to move around the pocket suggests protection is lacking, or that perhaps your receivers aren't getting to their correct spots. 

In fact, all of Rodgers' postgame comments came veiled with an air of defiance for his own play, rather than accountability. Fans have pleaded with Rodgers to just shoulder responsibility. It's an unwritten rule for quarterbacks. It doesn't matter if the struggles your team is experiencing are your fault — you take the blame anyway. It's part of being a leader within the lexicon of the NFL.

Rodgers bucks that notion and instead begs the question: When does confidence in oneself become detrimental?

On a first-of-its-kind skid in which the Packers, and more specifically the offense, are seemingly no closer to finding the answers to their problems than they were at the beginning of the year, Rodgers was asked if the postseason still seems plausible.

"G— damn right it does," Rodgers said. "I'm not worried about this squad. In fact, this might be the best thing for us. Nobody's going to give us a chance going to Buffalo on Sunday Night Football. It's a chance to get exposed. Shoot. Might be the best thing for us."

Pressed further, Rodgers' defiance broke free of its previous veil.

"It should be [a widespread belief in the locker room]," he said. "Unless they don't think they're the right person for the job. I think I'm the right person for the job. So, might have to ask them."

Rodgers can draw on past experience that allows him to think this way. As an 18-year veteran, he's seen a lot more than most of his team and there's precedent in his past for this kind of turnaround. He brought up a game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 12 of 2016. The Packers were sitting at 4-6, on a four-game losing streak before going into the Linc on Monday Night Football. They won that primetime matchup, 27-13, and won out the rest of the regular season, reaching the conference championship that year.

Rodgers is hoping for the same "juju" against the Bills this week.

But perhaps instead of relying on juju, he should rely more on himself and let his teammates rely on him for more than deflecting blame back onto them.

Carmen Vitali covers the NFC North for FOX Sports. Carmen had previous stops with The Draft Network and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. She spent six seasons with the Bucs, including 2020, which added the title of Super Bowl Champion (and boat-parade participant) to her résumé. You can follow Carmen on Twitter at @CarmieV.

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