Rodgers-Brady. It's the phrase we've heard uttered repeatedly this week, enough to send chills down the spine of any legitimate football fan. The two future hall-of-fame quarterbacks will, remarkably, share a field for only the second time this Sunday night in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Their only previous meeting came in 2014 at Lambeau Field, in a game won by the Packers, 26-21. In 2010, Rodgers was concussed and could only watch as the Packers came up short at Gillette Stadium, 27-31. Now, with the NFC North and AFC East playing only once every four years, it is easy to see why these two all-time greats have so seldom crossed paths. They have been like ships in the night, excelling and dominating without ever converging. An even better question, however, is how these two have never met on the ultimate stage? Prior to last year, when Rodgers missed most of the season, the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots shared the longest active consecutive postseason berths (8). So how have these perennial contenders and consistently great quarterbacks never met in the Super Bowl? Let's look back.
They share a number, will they ever share the field in the Super Bowl?
If football Gods exist in any form or fashion, they will eventually pull the strings and make this colossal showdown a reality. Of course, bear in mind that I am a die-hard Packers fan living in New England, so I am a bit biased here. Having seen Brady nearly every week for years, I can't help but respect the consistency and longevity of his play. Having seen nearly every snap Aaron Rodgers has taken, I continue to marvel at the inhuman plays he is able to make. Brady is more accomplished in the postseason, but Rodgers's abilities are unprecedented.
The Packers won Super Bowl XLV, while the Patriots fell short.
Rewind to the 2011 playoffs, when Rodgers and the Packers sneaked in as a Wild Card by winning their final two regular season games and finishing 10-6. They proceeded to win three straight road games and reach Super Bowl XLV where they defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-25. The Patriots, on the other hand, after winning eight straight to close the season and finishing 14-2, were delivered a stunning 28-21 home loss in the Divisional Round to the rival New York Jets. Despite one of his best regular seasons (36 TDS, 4 INTS) and a second MVP award, Brady was one-and-done in the playoffs.
It was the Giants, not the Packers, who topped New England in 2011
Rodgers found himself in a similar scenario the following season, after putting up one of the greatest statistical seasons we've ever witnessed. Coming off the Super Bowl victory, he threw 46 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions, while throwing for over 4,600 yards. As a result, the Packers finished the season 15-1, and were heavy favorites to reach a second-straight Super Bowl. Instead, the New York Giants came into Lambeau Field and dismantled the defending champs, 37-20, en route to a victory over the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI. In consecutive years, the regular season NFL MVPs (Brady, Rodgers) failed to advance past the Divisional Round as a number-one seed, and failed to hold up their end of the bargain.
Brandon Bostick couldn't send the Packers to the Super Bowl
And who could forget the Packers' epic collapse against the Seattle Seahawks in the 2015 NFC Championship Game? 3rd &19, the fake field goal, the botched onside kick. At the end of it all, the Packers blew a 16-0 lead, and a 19-7 lead in the final three minutes, sending the Seahawks to meet (and fall to) the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX. Yet again, the regular-season MVP (Rodgers) stumbled in the postseason, failing to meet their counterpart all-time great on the biggest stage.
Time is running out for a Rodgers/Brady Super Bowl
Tom Brady may plan to play until he's 50 ( CBS Article), but, realistically, this year may pose the best and final chance for these two tremendous players to go blow for blow on the ultimate stage. Brady, 41, has shown no signs of slowing down yet, and is coming off his third MVP season, in which he threw 32 touchdowns and just eight interceptions. For his career, Brady has thrown 504 touchdowns and 167 interceptions, good for a ratio of 3.02, the second best in league history. The highest career ratio? That belongs to Aaron Rodgers, and by a significant margin. His 4.13 TD/INT ratio is a FULL touchdown higher than Brady's. Rodgers also remains the only eligible quarterback to post a career passer rating above 100 (103.6). Brady sits second at 97.6. When Rodgers posted a 122.5 passer rating (highest in league history) in 2011, it seemed a foregone conclusion that he would reach (and win) several more Super Bowls. In the six seasons following his first Lombardi Trophy, however, Aaron has yet to reach the big game again, and has barely even sniffed it. Brady, on the other hand, is seeking his fifth Super Bowl appearance during that span. The efficiency favors Rodgers, the results favor Brady.
A quick glance at the graphic above tells you that Rodgers's first seven years in the league were not only more productive, but more efficient, than Brady's. Of course, as a 17-year veteran, Brady has now compiled over 60,000 yards and over 500 touchdowns. A little over halfway towards those numbers, Rodgers would need to continue to play at a high level for quite some time to approach them. What separates Tom for many, however, is his unparalleled playoff resume. In defeating the Houston Texans on Saturday, Brady improved to 27-10 in his postseason career. He ranks first in victories, games played, attempts, completions, yards, and touchdowns. If you want to relive Brady's earliest postseason heroics, here they are:
For my money, however, Brady's most iconic performance came just four years ago, in Super Bowl 49 against the Seattle Seahawks. Down 10 entering the fourth quarter against one of the most most fearsome defenses the league has ever seen, Brady never relented. He recovered from two early interceptions to go 13 of 15 for 124 yards and two touchdowns, the final one proving to be the game-winner to Julian Edelman. His passer rating in the final frame was 140.7, and his Patriots staged the largest fourth quarter comeback in Super Bowl history:
While Aaron Rodgers may not have the postseason accolades or playoff record (he is 9-6) that Brady boasts, he is the most efficient, and quite possibly the most exciting, quarterback the league has ever seen. Two years ago, when my formatting was atrocious and my layout made eyes bleed, I wrote a piece entitled An Ode to Rodgers (Link), which essentially claimed that Rodgers possessed the greatest ability of any quarterback ever to play football. I decided this in 2011, folks, when Rodgers, as a green (no pun intended) third-year starter, put on as impressive a display as I have ever seen in sports:
The performance in this Divisional Round road game was unreal: 31 of 36 for 366 yards and four total touchdowns (3 passing, 1 rushing) in a 48-21 clobbering of the number-one seeded Atlanta Falcons. It was an absolute clinic, much like the one we saw this past Sunday in Dallas. Every time Atlanta seemed to have him bottled up, he slithered, escaped, and hit a receiver with unprecedented accuracy and velocity. Two weeks later, Rodgers led his Packers to a victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl 45, going 24-39 for 304 yards and three touchdowns.
Brady and Rodgers exchange a handshake following their only meeting
So, for me, the dream remains, but we are running out of time. If football gods exist, in any form or fashion, they will not allow this to be the final Rodgers versus Brady match-up. If football gods exist, they will, at some point, make it happen on the ultimate stage. If we ever do see Packers versus Patriots, Rodgers versus Brady, I don't particularly care who wins, I just want the privilege of witnessing it just one time. If Rodgers throws for 400 yards, defeats Brady, and claims his second Super Bowl, does his folklore-like legend rise to unprecedented heights? Maybe. If Brady wins yet another title in the final moments, will become insurmountable as the Greatest of All Time? That's for you to decide. And you. And you, and you, and you, and you, and every fan of football that has ever lived. That's what makes this so damn fun.
