Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers moved to 6-2 on Thursday night with a dominant 34-17 victory over an ailing San Francisco 49ers team. Rodgers was his typical future Hall-of-Famer self, as he completed 25 of 31 passes for 305 yards and four touchdowns. He even did enough to take a seat on the bench by the late stages of the fourth quarter, as Tim Boyle took over under center and wrapped things up. During the win, Rodgers entered rare company, as he became just the second player to put together a historical performance through the first eight games of a season.
According to NFL Research, Rodgers, who has now thrown 24 touchdowns and just two interceptions so far this season, has become the second player in NFL history to throw at least 24 touchdowns and two or fewer interceptions in his team’s first eight games of a season. He joins Tom Brady, who threw 30 touchdowns and two interceptions through the first eight games of the 2007 season, when the New England Patriots went 16-0. During that campaign, Brady became the first quarterback to throw 50-plus touchdowns in a single season.
Rodgers is clearly having fun on the field again. Even after the Packers went 13-3 last year and made it all the way to the NFC Championship game, Green Bay was tabbed as a prime candidate to regress. That narrative only picked up steam when the Packers drafted a quarterback with their first-round pick and then a running back with their very next selection. The offense looked more than fine on Thursday, however, as Davante Adams caught 10 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown while Marquez Valdes-Scantling caught two touchdowns for a total of 53 yards on two receptions.
This Packers team has a top 10 passing offense in the league and is out to take the No. 1 seed in the NFC this year. It’s also clear that their 36-year-old under center has not regressed, and could be on the verge of a historical season.
