If Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn wants to slow down Aaron Rodgers, perhaps he should give Vic Fangio a phone call.
The Chicago Bears defensive coordinator might have some decent advice based on how his defense played against Rodgers in their game against the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field on Dec. 18.
Need a refresher?
Even though the Packers escaped with a 30-27 win, Rodgers completed only 61 percent of his passes, posted a passer rating of 87.0 and didn’t throw for any touchdowns. Using ESPN’s quarterback-grading metric (QBR), Rodgers’ 50.5 rated lower than Bears starter Matt Barkley’s 65.8 grade – and he three three interceptions.
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In his last three games against the Bears, Rodgers has thrown three touchdowns and one interception – but has completed only 61.5 percent of his passes and owns a pedestrian (by his lofty standards) 82.9 quarterback rating.
In two postseason games, Rodgers has thrown for 718 yards, six touchdowns and one interception to go along with a sparking 110.4 quarterback rating and a darn good 83.5 QBR – which would rank as the highest in the league this season.
You can ponder your own game plan for stopping Rodgers while browsing today’s bullets:
Despite owning some recent success against Rodgers, the Bears defensive secondary is a concern for the Bears and we recently highlighted that in the wake of PFF’s season rankings. Over at the Arlington Heights Daily Herald, Bob LeGere writes the Bears lack secondary playmakers. The 2017 Bears have a lot of needs, but when your safeties combine to haul in one interception then that need should rank higher than others.
Quarterback is obviously a big need, but John Mullin of CSN Chicago writes that this postseason provides some cautionary tales for the Bears on their hunt of a quarterback. Falcons coach Dan Quinn – who Mullin writes was “the presumptive first choice of GM Ryan Pace to succeed Marc Trestman” – inherited Matt Ryan, so it would be unfair to think Jay Cutler to what Ryan has done.
In New England, Jimmy Garoppolo remains a potential trade target. But before you jump on that bandwagon, Mullin lists a slew of No. 2 quarterbacks who were stuck behind a starter who moved into starting roles but never lived up to the hype. This list includes Brock Osweiler, who has $16 million guaranteed coming his way in 2017. No wonder GM Ryan Pace knows he has his work cut out for him this offseason.
I did a double-take when I found out Jason Witten’s fourth-quarter score was his first career playoff touchdown. Witten had no scores – despite 51 targets, 39 catches and 427 yards – in seven postseason contests prior to Sunday’s loss.
If you liked having a divisional round playoff game in primetime, Sunday night’s Steelers-Chiefs game might have just been the beginning. Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the NFL is expected to consider future Sunday night playoff games. The game was originally scheduled to start at 12:05, but was moved back because of weather.
The Oakland Raiders will file relocation papers to move to Las Vegas. It was only a year ago when the Raiders teamed with the Chargers with a proposal to team up for a stadium in Carson, Calif., but not only was that rejected by the NFL in favor of the Rams’ relocation proposal – the Chargers announced they were joining the Rams last week. The Las Vegas Review-Journal has four storylines to watch moving forward.
And don’t worry, Bears fans – this team isn’t moving.
Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.
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NEWSLETTER
If Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn wants to slow down Aaron Rodgers, perhaps he should give Vic Fangio a phone call.
