'A moment I'll never forget': Aaron Rodgers savors record-setting moment — and the play that produced it
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Aaron Rodgers heard the play call inside his helmet, and the mind that can uncannily trace each moment in a Hall-of-Fame career had no difficulty traveling all the way back to the beginning.
Rodgers was a rookie in Mike McCarthy’s version of the West Coast offense when he learned Double Stick. For quarterbacks, Double Stick is the ground floor of building an NFL acumen, a simple play. Two inside receivers run routes underneath a perimeter vertical, which serves to clear space.
“One of the first concepts,” the quarterback said, “I learned as a rookie in this offense.”
He isn’t a rookie anymore. Aaron Rodgers, 17 seasons into his NFL career, has a new head coach, new offense, enough memories to put him in the pantheon of players who have ever called one of the NFL’s iconic franchises home.
And he’s still running Double Stick.
Matt LaFleur sent the play to his quarterback with less than six minutes remaining in Saturday’s first quarter. The Green Bay Packers were on the 11-yard line, sniffing a historic touchdown. Before catching center Lucas Patrick’s shotgun snap, Rodgers knew Double Stick had a chance. The Cleveland Browns were playing inside leverage, taking away routes to the middle of the field. They were also in off coverage, providing plenty of cushion for an underneath route.
Rodgers audibled to send Allen Lazard, the middle receiver in a trips formation, on an out route toward the right sideline.
“Felt like Allen was going to win based on leverage presnap,” Rodgers said.
He was right. Lazard broke his route just shy of 5 yards from the line of scrimmage. He had nobody around him after catching Rodgers’ pass at the 6. “I knew I had the angle,” Lazard said. He turned up field, beating Browns safety M.J. Stewart Jr. to the pylon for the historic touchdown.
The first score in the Packers’ 24-22 victory Saturday against the Browns doubled as the 443rd touchdown pass in Rodgers’ career. One more than Brett Favre threw for the Packers.
“He caught it,” Rodgers said, “and made a dive to the end zone. I wasn’t quite sure if he was in or not. It was one of those that they called it touchdown because they weren’t sure, and then they were looking at it, looking at it, but the celebration had started.”
There was a quite a celebration after 443 was official. Behind the play, Rodgers’ offensive linemen swarmed him. Patrick hoisted Rodgers’ in the air, carrying him toward the goal line.
When his feet finally returned to the ground, Rodgers met Lazard at the goal line. Lazard patted his quarterback on the helmet, then handed him the record-breaking ball. Around him, the 77,901 fans inside Lambeau Field serenaded Rodgers with “MVP” chants.
Then he got a special message on the video scoreboard overhead.
“Hey 12,” Brett Favre greeted in a prepared recording. “Congratulations, man, on passing my touchdown record. I have one request: Go get us another Super Bowl. Congrats.”
Said Rodgers: “To get a message from Favre definitely got me a little teary-eyed on the bench. A moment I’ll never forget, for sure.”
A week earlier, Rodgers had a chance to break Favre’s record in Baltimore. He had Lazard wide open in the right corner of the end zone late in the fourth quarter, but the football caught wind and sailed out of bounds.
Lazard had to sit with that near-miss all week. Even if the incompletion wasn’t his fault, he knew it’s rare to get a second chance at history.
“My reaction,” Lazard said, “was just like, ‘Oh, (expletive). I caught it.’ I wasn’t focused on it or anything. I didn’t have a plan after to do anything special for him or anything. I think once I caught it, I knew I was in, saw the refs signal it, it was a pretty great feeling to be on that side of history and seeing his picture up there with the 443.
“It was a huge moment of gratitude for me, and I think everyone else as well.”
Rodgers tucked the record-breaking football under his left arm and trudged to the sideline, where he watched Favre’s message. The emotions all hit him at once.
It was a moment that seemed inevitable for years, Rodgers no doubt benefiting from NFL rules designed to boost passing numbers, as well as the longevity of his career. And it was a moment that seemed like it might never come this offseason. Rodgers has now thrown 33 touchdown passes against only four interceptions this season, numbers that put him in line for potentially his second straight MVP and fourth of his career, and it can be easy to forget how close this quarterback and team came to never reconnecting during a tumultuous offseason.
The offseason was a distant memory with 5:13 left in Saturday’s first quarter.
“I got chills when that happened,” LaFleur said. “I thought the tribute to him was outstanding. Hearing from Brett Favre, having his message, it was just a great moment. And I’m really, really happy that on top of that moment, we were able to come away with a win.”
What seemed like a formality for most of Saturday became something much different down the stretch. The Packers had to survive a late Browns rally, staving off a defeat that would have dampened the historic afternoon.
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Rodgers made more history on his next touchdown pass early in the second quarter. On third-and-goal from the 9, Davante Adams got wide open in the middle of the field on a slant route. Rodgers had an easy window to throw his 66th career touchdown pass to Adams, one more than he threw to Jordy Nelson.
The new record for most touchdown passes between a quarterback-receiver duo in Packers history was a cherry on top of an unforgettable Christmas. But the highlight was 443. Rodgers now stands alone atop Favre for most touchdown passes in Packers history, breaking a record nobody expected to be toppled so quickly.
And he did it with one of the most basic plays in the West Coast offense.
“It’s been a long career,” Rodgers said, “and to break a record like that on a simple play like that, a staple of West Coast offense, is pretty cool.”