In several games Rodgers scored the points to take the lead but left too much time on the clock and the defense gave up late scores. Do these losses say something about Rodgers and his play in those games, or is it more a team statistic? Many of the other close losses happened in Rodgers first season as a starter when the Packers were a poor team. You saw a field goal clank off the uprights on the last play of regulation after Rodgers drove them into position in a minutes time. In Rodgers' case if you look at the games he has lost that are close on the final play you see a team that made 18 penalties and a fumble as time was winding down to give up the losing points. Conversely, the team can be holding onto to a one point lead and then the defense makes a great play and intercepts the ball for a touchdown and now they win by eight points and it's no longer a close win. A team can be behind by 10 points and score a touchdown on the last play of the game to make the final score a three point win and now the quarterback would get credit for a close win. Tonight Rodgers had some good stats but also threw some Favre-like interceptions and looked totally out of sync with his receivers on many instances, but the defense scored a touchdown and made the stand at the end of the game and won him his close victory. Aaron Rodgers has had two close victories this season and both were completed by defensive stands at the end of the game. To give the quarterback all the credit or blame for close wins or losses is unfair to the quarterback and the team. The same can be true for “close victories”. may tell you something meaningful about a game, but usually it has little to do with what is happening on the field. One team can run and run and move the ball but end up never scoring any points, while the other team may throw bomb after bomb and score in a few seconds. Time of possession can be a great example. The first question is does this statistic even matter in the first place? Football is full of meaningless statistics.
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