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Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers entered the 2021 NFL Playoffs with the best record in the entire NFL. It's the third consecutive season they have won 13 games in the regular season and earned the top spot in the NFC Playoffs.
They were one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl this year, as they have been for the last few years.
The Green Bay Packers were defeated by the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round of the 2021 NFL Playoffs by a score of 13-10. Rodgers played one of his worst games of the season, leading the Packers to just 10 points while recording zero touchdown passes.
For the third straight season, the Packers wasted the top seed, appearing in zero Super Bowls and accumulating a 2-3 postseason record.
Postseason failures will eliminate Aaron Rodgers from the NFL GOAT conversation
Aaron Rodgers is one of the greatest regular-season quarterbacks in NFL history. He has won the NFL MVP award three times in his career and is the current favorite to win it again for the 2021 NFL season.
Peyton Manning, who won the award five times, is the only player in NFL history with more than Rodgers (Tom Brady also has three).
Rodgers' most impressive statistic is his efficiency. He has an incredible 449 touchdown passes against just 93 interceptions in his regular season career.
That's the best ratio of any quarterback in NFL history. He seems to dominate every year and is widely considered one of the most talented pure passers of all time.
Despite all of the success of the regular season, the postseason has been a different story. Aaron Rodgers has struggled to get it done when it's mattered the most over the last decade plus.
He won a Super Bowl ring in the 2010 NFL season and was named the MVP of the game. He has not even been back to one since then, let alone winning a second ring.
Rodgers' postseason record is just 7-9 since winning the Super Bowl, including an ugly 0-4 record in Conference Championship games. Players who belong in the GOAT discussion are the ones who elevate their game in the biggest moments and provide their teams with championships.
Rodgers has been unable to do so consistently.
Greatness is defined by individual awards and team success. Aaron Rodgers has plenty of individual accolades in the form of NFL MVP awards and impressive statistics, but he has not been a true winner for the vast majority of his career.
To be in the discussion as the GOAT, one has to win championships.
Tom Brady, by comparison, has won seven Super Bowl rings and ten Conference Championship games. He has also won three NFL MVP awards.
Brady has been in the NFC for just two seasons and has accomplished as much as Rodgers has in 17 seasons as a starter. Both have won exactly one NFC Championship game and one Super Bowl as members of the conference.
There is no doubt that Aaron Rodgers is one of the most talented quarterbacks in NFL history and one of the most dominant in the regular season. His consistent failures in the playoffs are what eliminates his name from the GOAT conversation.
The title belongs to Tom Brady, while Rodgers is not even close. He may be in the top five, but is clearly not the GOAT.
