NEWSLETTER
Aaron Rodgers never looked right in 2018, especially not after taking some hard hits in the season-opener against the Bears. And now, we know why:
Rodgers on how the tibia plateau fracture and sprained MCL affected his 2018 season: "I really wasn't 100 percent the entire year."
— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) April 9, 2019
If you don’t remember what it looked like when Aaron Rodgers was knocked out in Week 1 after being crunched by Roy Robertson-Harris in the second quarter, here’s a reminder:
The Rodgers injury.pic.twitter.com/K0KQvrV9JF
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 10, 2018
The Bears’ top-ranked defense really did a number on Rodgers in 2018, sacking him seven times in two games. And when given a chance to seek out revenge for his heroic Week 1 come-from-behind win, Chicago’s defense rose to the occasion and put on a show. Rodgers was sacked five times while Chicago also dished out a whopping nine quarterback hits in the team’s division-clinching win against Green Bay.
But still … playing through a tibia plateau fracture and sprained MCL and leading the charge in a monumental (and from my perspective, maddening as all heck) comeback is one thing. But to play a full 16-game season on it is something else. Rodgers wasn’t himself last year and it showed. And now, we have an explanation as to why. Heck, simply typing “tibia plateau fracture” made me cringe.
It’s wild to think of how that Week 1 loss ultimately served as a motivational tool that pushed the 2018 Bears toward winning the NFC North. Injuries might have held the Packers back last year, but a considerable amount of drama definitely didn’t help matters. But with clean slates all around and everyone’s health is in good order, business will soon pick up in the NFL’s most storied rivalry. Bring it on!
Reminder, Aaron Rodgers stinks:
Aaron Rodgers Says “Bitter, Irrelevant” Ex-Teammates Helped Create a “Smear Attack” https://t.co/uyGWnMEK5Z pic.twitter.com/HXW679jkbJ
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) April 9, 2019
