Aaron Rodgers Stats in NFC Championship are Concerning

Updated: Sep 10, 5:00pm UTC

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is one of the best to ever play at his position. Rodgers has diced up opposing defenses all season, en route to being the favorite to win NFL MVP. The Packers QB will be crucial to taking down a tough Tampa Bay Buccaneers team in order to advance to the Super Bowl.

However, Rodgers' stats in past NFC Championship Games aren't the most impressive, which is a cause for concern heading into Sunday.

Rodgers has made four NFC Championship Game appearances in his career, only advancing to the Super Bowl once, in 2011.

However, 2011 might have been Rodgers' poorest performance of them all, with the QB managing 17 completions for 244 yards and 0 TDs while throwing 2 interceptions.

In 2015, against the Seattle Seahawks, Rodgers put up just 178 yards, while tossing 1 TD and 2 INTs.

Against the Atlanta Falcons in 2017, Rodgers had a decent game with 287 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT, but Green Bay was blown out, 44-21. The 2020 NFC Championship was a similar story (326 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs), with all of Green Bay's scores coming in the second half of a game already decided.

Rodgers' conference championship game performances seem to highlight a disturbing trend involving interceptions. On some level that's to be expected, given that he's likely playing some stout defenses that deep into the playoff. But it's also something that's clearly hurt the Packers, as evidenced by their 1-3 record with Rodgers in the NFC Championship.

Facing a prolific Tampa offense on Sunday, if Rodgers struggles again, it could result in fellow QB Tom Brady making a historic Super Bowl appearance.