After a tough stretch to start the season, the Detroit Lions’ defense shined this past Sunday. One might even go as far as saying that they played “great” against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, allowing just nine points en route to the season’s second victory.
You know who wouldn’t say that? Aaron Rodgers.
He was asked about Detroit’s defense on Tuesday during his weekly appointment on the Pat McAfee Show. Former Packer teammate A.J. Hawk cited last week’s conversation with Rodgers, saying, “We talked about it before you guys played about how what they’d shown on film so far this year was not that great, and then they obviously come back and play great against you guys, like, did they do everything different? I doubt they could change everything.”
Rodgers took exception to this characterization of the Lions defense — which picked him off three times for just the fifth time in his career — and in particular, the word “great.”
“Now, look, no disrespect, but did they play ‘great’? We had 400 yards of offense on them, moved the ball up and down the field,” Rodgers said on the show.
“I threw an interception off a helmet, I threw an interception about five yards short of (Packers offensive lineman David Bahktiari), I mean, it wasn’t like — I didn’t play a great game, we still made a lot of mental mistakes, but I don’t think they really stopped us. We had three possessions in the first half and went up and down the field. So, you know, it was more about us, I think, than them.”
Going back to his postgame press conference against the Lions, Rodgers has opted out of giving Detroit’s defense credit for his mistakes at almost every turn. In fact, during his appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, he sounded like Lions fans often do after games.
“That game, honestly, shouldn’t have been that close,” Rodgers said. “We had opportunities there. We were on the 1-yard line, can’t get the ball in the end zone. The other one, we have a couple plays where we have a chance to get in, and we should be looking at … at least 14 points in the first half, and then in the second half, obviously, plays out differently with us having those points, but we beat ourselves, as we have many times this year.”
Well, well, well. How the tables have turned. A five-game losing streak and Green Bay’s 3-6 start has put Rodgers under plenty of fire. Throwing three interceptions against the Lions — of all teams! — definitely didn’t help quiet the noise. But following a detailed defense about how other players on his team can play a role in interceptions, allow Rodgers to be the first to say: He doesn’t give a (redacted) what other people think about his play.
“Two of (the interceptions) weren’t great throws; there’s some other parts to plays. It’s usually not just on one person — every now and then it is on just one person — but there’s a lot that goes into each play that could either avoid some of those things or — and sometimes, guys can screw parts of the play up, and you can make a great throw and make up for all of it,” Rodgers said.
“But yeah, wasn’t a great throw to (Bahktiari), and wasn’t a great throw to (Packers tight end Robert Tonyan) either. … In that play, there were some things that could have probably gone on that could have made it a different type of window or look. Look, I’ve made that throw and I’ve thrown touchdown passes many times.
“I don’t give a s— what any of these experts on TV have to say.”
Twitter: @nolanbianchi
nbianchi@detroitnews.com
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