As far as his overall numbers go, Aaron Rodgers is once again one of the best two or three quarterbacks in the NFL this season. However, breaking down the numbers to a specific point shows that in certain situations, he is absolutely the best there is in one area: throwing deep at the end of the game.
As you'll see in one of today's Cheese Curds below, Rodgers has completed five such passes in crunch time, surpassing the entire combined total of the rest of the NFL's throwers. Here's the exact quote:
Including playoffs, Rodgers has completed 5 of 8 passes (63 percent) thrown 30 or more yards downfield in the last minute of the fourth quarter over the past two seasons. The rest of the NFL is 4-of-46 (9 percent) on such passes over that stretch.
That's astounding. We'll break that down along with a little more information about his latest entry - the Jared Cook throw along the sideline - here in Curds.
Mason Crosby had family behind him during game-winning kick | Packers.com
Crosby's sister-in-law is currently battling ovarian cancer, and Mason wore a wristband to honor her during the game and during his multiple big kicks at the end. His brother could not make the trip, so much of the rest of his family came to support Mason as he supported his family.
Top liability for each remaining playoff team | PFF
Atlanta's cornerback unit is a mess - #1 Desmond Trufant is out for the year - but the Packers' entire secondary is right there with them, and we still don't know what's going on with Morgan Burnett.
Divisional Round QB Performances: Ranking QBs 1-8 - Stats & Info- ESPN
Here's the link where that stat about Rodgers is found. Here are the completions:
1. Hail Mary to Richard Rodgers
2. Deep throw to Jeff Janis
3. Hail Mary to Jeff Janis
4. Heave to Jordy Nelson against the Bears
5. Sunday's schoolyard throw to Jared Cook
Rodgers uses "menu" for clutch pass to Cook | Packersnews.com
While Aaron did draw up the final pass in the huddle, he didn't do it all from scratch; Mike McCarthy gives him guidance on route combinations and protections to use in situations like that, and he worked from that list of concepts.
Jared Cook: Aaron Rodgers 'made it easy for me' - NFL.com
Cook was talking about the throw specifically, which was in the absolutely perfect spot for him to haul it in and get both of his toes down in bounds.
Tom Brady tries not to miss Packers games because he loves watching Aaron Rodgers - SBNation.com
And why wouldn't any fan of football do the same?
Dan Quinn -- Julio Jones of Atlanta Falcons will be 'ready to rock' Sunday | ESPN.com
Jones has what is described as a "toe sprain," which he first suffered back in Week 13. However, despite limited reps in practice this week, there is no question about whether he will play on Sunday.