San Francisco 49ers own Aaron Rodgers in NFL playoffs
Aaron Rodgers is likely going to win the NFL MVP award this year. That would mark back-to-back MVP honors for one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. But even with all his great play, he failed to take down his boogeyman that is the San Francisco 49ers in the postseason.
The quarterback entered Saturday night's showdown with a 0-3 record against the 49ers in the postseason. Green Bay Packers fans thought this was the time to end the drought. After all, Rodgers was at home in the friendly, freezing confines of Lambeau Field.
Instead, a few blunders from the special teams did the Packers in and prevented the team from going to a third consecutive NFC Championship Game. But it should also be noted that the 49ers defense held Rodgers in check all night.
Aaron Rodgers has a long history of failure against the 49ers
The 49ers took down the Packers, 45-31, in the 2012 Divisional Round. They did it again a year later in the Wild Card Round, winning 23-20. The two losses were a bit too early to start saying that there was a trend beginning to take shape.
That changed during the 2019 season, when Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers took down the Packers by a 37-20 final scoreline in the NFC Championship Game. A 0-3 mark officially made it clear that Rodgers just couldn't overcome the 49ers, no matter who was on the roster.
This storyline is a fascinating one because Rodgers is a Northern California native. He went to college at Cal and was a top quarterback prospect in a year when his local team owned the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft. The team went with Alex Smith instead, and a grudge was born.
Saturday's loss might have been the worst of all four. For starters, the Packers won 13 games for the third season in a row. They still could not win and advance to the NFC Championship Game. That has everyone in Green Bay wondering if this current group is good enough to win a Super Bowl, or if they will always collapse once the postseason begins.
It only gets worse as this latest defeat could mark the end of Rodgers' time in Green Bay. Perhaps the quarterback himself is wondering if it's time to leave. He last won a Super Bowl during the 2010 season and is 0-4 in Championship Games ever since. Seeing Tom Brady go to Tampa Bay and win a title right away may have the Green Bay signal-caller ready for a second act in the NFL.
No matter where he goes, the 49ers curse will follow him until he can prove otherwise.
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