“That should be something that rakes your soul” - Stephen A. Smith blasts Aaron Rodgers for not making it to the Super Bowl with the Packers
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was taken to task by ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith for not making it to Super Bowl in 2022.
On the ESPN debate show First Take, Smith stated that the Packers quarterback is walking around as though this is 2011 after winning the Lombardi Trophy in 2010:
“The fact that we are sitting here dealing with all of this noise with Aaron Rodgers evidently incapable of making up his mind in an expeditious fashion. You are walking around like you are a champion. Like this is 2011 and you had just won the title in 2010 as opposed to the individual that has now gone 11 or 12 consecutive seasons where not only have you not won a Super Bowl, you haven't even made the Super Bowl. And the fact that you're as great as you are, but you still have never been able to raise the Lombardi Trophy to even show up on a Sunday afternoon to compete for that Lombardi Trophy in a Super Bowl appearance in more than a decade."
Maybe the problem isn’t Green Bay? 🤔
“Maybe [Aaron Rodgers] can’t get it done.” —@mspears96 https://t.co/IGVJGFZMyV
Smith concluded that the lack of a Super Bowl in over a decade should rake at the soul of the 38-year-old signal caller:
“That should be something that rakes your soul to the point where some level of humility kicks in and you're able to make up your mind and not make up all of these, you know, basically, be responsible for all of these headlines.”
Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay's Last Super Bowl Win
In the 2010 season, Rodgers and Green Bay entered the playoffs with a record of 10 – 6, finishing second in the NFC North. Rodgers threw for 3,922 yards with 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions during the regular season. He finished seventh in passing yards and tied for sixth in touchdown passes.
Entering the playoffs as the sixth seed, the Packers played in three consecutive playoff games before reaching Super Bowl 45 versus the Pittsburgh Steelers.
.@AaronRodgers12: Super Bowl XLV MVP. 🏆
Rewatch the @packers' fourth Super Bowl victory TONIGHT at 7pm ET on @FS1. https://t.co/0RgzxVbC8y
Green Bay became the second team after the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers, and the first NFC team to win the Super Bowl as the sixth-seed.
They defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card Round, the Atlanta Falcons in the Divisional Round, and the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship Game.
What’s more, the Packers became the second NFC team to win three straight road playoff games after the New York Giants in 2007.
During that postseason, Rodgers threw for 1,094 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions. In Super Bowl 45, he went 24 of 39 for 309 yards passing with three touchdowns, earning Super Bowl MVP honors.
Over a decade later, that win remains the only Super Bowl appearance of Rodgers' career. Will he return for the 2022 season in pursuit of his second Lombardi Trophy? We shall see as he makes a decision on his future soon.