Packers at Bears NFC Championship Release.indd - NFL.com

PACKERS TEAM NOTESTAKING HIS PLACE AMONG THE GAME’S BESTWith 35 passing attempts at Atlanta in Week 12, QB Aaron Rodgers surpassedthe 1,500-attempt plateau for his career, the benchmark to qualifyfor career passer rating in the NFL.Rodgers has completed 1,038-of-1,611 passes (64.4 percent) in hiscareer for 12,723 yards and 87 touchdowns with 32 interceptions for a98.4 passer rating in the regular season.That rating ranks No. 1 in NFL history, ahead of San Diego QB PhilipRivers, who has a 97.2 career rating.Four of the top five rated passers in NFL history are active quarterbacks,with Steve Young (96.8), Tony Romo (95.5) and Tom Brady (95.2)rounding out the top five.With a passer rating of 101.2 this season, Rodgers became the firstquarterback in franchise history to record a 100-plus passer ratingin back-to-back seasons (103.2 in 2009).Rodgers joins Rivers as the only NFL signal-callers to register a 100-plusrating in each of the past two seasons, and Rodgers’ combined ratingof 102.3 in 2009-10 ranks No. 3 in the league behind Brady (103.1) andRivers (103.0).Having missed the Week 15 game at New England and half of the previousgame at Detroit due to a concussion, Rodgers fell 78 yards shy ofhis third straight 4,000-yard season.With 3,922 passing yards this season, Rodgers brought his total in threeseasons as a starter to 12,394. That ranks No. 2 in NFL history behindonly Kurt Warner (12,612, 1999-2001) for the most passing yards by aQB in his first three seasons as a starter.Rodgers completed 312-of-475 passes on the season, a 65.7 completionpercentage that ranks No. 2 in team history behind only BrettFavre’s 66.5 mark in 2007.Rodgers has thrown just 31 interceptions in his three seasons as astarter, a 2.0 interception percentage that leads the league over thatspan among quarterbacks with 40 or more starts.Rodgers also ranks No. 1 in NFL history (min. 1,500 attempts) in careerinterception percentage at 2.0, ahead of Neil O’Donnell (2.1) and Brady(2.2).Rodgers finished in the top 10 in nearly every major passing categoryagain this season, despite missing the Week 15 contest at New England.He finished No. 3 in passer rating (101.2), No. 7 in yards (3,922), tiedfor No. 6 in TDs (28), and No. 2 in 25-yard passes (40).He joins Brady and Rivers as nominees for FedEx Air NFL Player of theYear, which will be awarded during the week of Super Bowl XLV.Rodgers threw four TD passes at Minnesota in Week 11, his regularseasoncareer high. His passer rating of 141.3 (22-of-31, 301 yards),was the second-best single-game mark in his career behind only his155.4 rating at Cleveland on Oct. 25, 2009.Rodgers joined Eagles QB Michael Vick (at Washington, Nov. 15) andBrady (at Detroit, Nov. 25, vs. N.Y. Jets, Dec. 6) as the only QBs to posta 140-plus passer rating, 300 yards passing and four passing TDs in agame this season.He matched that career-best TD total with four against the Giants inWeek 16, and his 404 yards passing were a regular-season career best.It was the 10th game in which he had three-or-more TD passes and noINTs, the most by an NFL quarterback within three seasons of his firstNFL start. It topped Warner’s mark of nine from 1999-2001.Last season, Rodgers threw for 4,434 yards as he became the first QB inNFL history to throw for more than 4,000 yards in each of his first twoseasons as a starter.In 2009, Rodgers joined Young (San Francisco, 1998) as the only quarterbacksin NFL history to throw for 4,000 yards and 30 TDs and rushfor 300 yards and five TDs in the same season.In 47 career starts, Rodgers has eclipsed the century mark in passerrating 25 times and recorded 14 games of 300-plus yards. He postedhis 20th career 100-plus passer rating game in just his 36th career start,which ranks third among NFL QBs since 1970 behind only Warner (33)and Romo (34).Rodgers threw 70 TD passes in his first 40 career starts, a Packersfranchise record.A look at where Rodgers ranks among NFL quarterbacks since he tookover as the starter in 2008:PlayerPassing Yards1. Drew Brees, NO 14,0772. Peyton Manning, IND 13,2023. Philip Rivers, SD 12,9734. Aaron Rodgers, GB 12,394PlayerPassing TDs1. Drew Brees, NO 1012. Peyton Manning, IND 933. Philip Rivers, SD 924. Aaron Rodgers, GB 86PlayerPasser Rating1. Philip Rivers, SD 103.82. Tom Brady, NE 102.93. Aaron Rodgers, GB 99.4PlayerYards/Attempt1. Philip Rivers, SD 8.622. Aaron Rodgers, GB 7.993. Ben Roethlisberger, PIT 7.94Player25-yard passes1. Aaron Rodgers, GB 1102. Drew Brees, NO 1043. Philip Rivers, SD 103HEATING UP ON THE BIG STAGEAs productive as Rodgers has been during the regular season in his threeyears as the starter, his numbers have been even more impressive in theplayoffs.With his three-TD performance Saturday night at Atlanta in his thirdcareer playoff start, Rodgers etched his name in the NFL postseasonrecord books.Combining Saturday’s outing with his four-TD passing game last seasonat Arizona in an NFC Wild Card contest and his three-TD game atPhiladelphia in the Wild Card round this year, Rodgers’ 10 touchdownpasses in his first three postseason starts are the most in NFL history.It topped the mark of nine held by Jeff George, Daryle Lamonicaand Dan Marino in their first three playoff starts. Rodgers is also thefirst QB in NFL postseason history to throw for three-plus TDsin each of his first three playoff starts.Rodgers connected on 31-of-36 passes (86.1 percent) for 366 yards andthree TDs with no INTs against the Falcons for a 136.8 passer rating. The31 completions and the percentage were single-game team postseasonrecords.The 86.1 completion percentage ranks No. 5 in single-game NFL postseasonhistory, and No. 1 among QBs with 35-plus attempts in a game.Along with his 121.4 passer rating against the Cardinals in the playoffslast season (28-of-42, 423 yards, four TDs, one INT) and his 122.5 ratingtwo weeks ago against the Eagles (18-of-27, 180 yards, three TDs,no INTs) Rodgers is the only quarterback in league history toregister 120-plus passer ratings in each of his first three playoff starts,according to the Elias Sports Bureau. No other NFL quarterback hasposted a 120-plus rating in each of his first two postseason starts.Rodgers’ career postseason passer rating of 129.4 ranks No. 1 in NFLhistory. His rating of 134.5 during the 2010 playoffs currently ranksNo. 3 in NFL annals (min. 50 attempts) for the top mark in a singlepostseason behind San Francisco’s Joe Montana (146.4 in 1989) andGreen Bay’s Bart Starr (135.6 in 1966).Rodgers’ career postseason completion percentage of 73.3 (77-of-105)ranks No. 1 in NFL postseason history (min. 50 attempts).He holds both of the top single-game passing yardage marks in GreenBay postseason history with the 423-yard outing at Arizona last seasonand the 366-yard performance at Atlanta this past Saturday. He has alsorecorded three of the franchise’s top seven single-game passer ratingsin playoff history.He also ran for a 7-yard TD on Saturday night in Atlanta, the secondpostseason rushing score of his career. With that rushing TD, hebecame the first QB in NFL postseason history to throw for 350yards/three TDs/no INTs while also running for a score in a game.55