Aaron Rodgers has been part of plenty of ups and downs during his career with the Green Bay Packers. But, Year 18 of his Hall of Fame career has been arguably the wildest roller coaster ride.
There was some doubt coming into the 2022 season if Rodgers would even be suiting up for the Packers. Rumors have swirled the last two years about him possibly moving on, whether that meant pushing for a trade or retiring. At points this season, retirement looked like it would have been better.
The Packers had a three-game winning streak early in the season that was followed by a brutal stretch in which they lost seven out of eight games. That put the season on life support as Green Bay would need to make a miraculous run themselves and receive plenty of help from other teams around the league.
Heading into the final week of the regular season, everything that the Packers needed to occur has happened. They now control their destiny in Week 18 in a matchup against the Detroit Lions, something Aaron Rodgers was unable to hide his excitement about after dismantling the Minnesota Vikings 41-17 in Week 17.
“We’re 8-8, controlling our own destiny, with a game right here to get into the dance. How ‘bout that?”
There were times in the past month when the Packers’ odds of making the postseason were in the single digits. Despite the odds being stacked against them, Green Bay never wavered, as they remained confident that a run could be made with Rodgers leading the way.
This has been one of the toughest seasons of his career, as he has dealt with a broken thumb and injuries to his ribs and knee. Despite that, he has toughed things out and has helped get the Packers to within one more victory of earning the final Wild Card spot in the NFC.
If they can exact some revenge on the Lions, who defeated the Packers 15-9 in Week 9 on November 6th, Green Bay will make the postseason for the fourth consecutive season. If the standing hold, that would result in a rematch with the San Francisco 49ers, who have eliminated the Packers from the postseason in two out of the last three years,
