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Aaron Rodgers had a broken left knee splint. He had blood on the white sleeve that covered his left arm during a cool October night at Lambeau Field. He looked particularly depressed after being sacked at the last minute of Monday's game against the San Francisco 49ers.
It does not matter. Even though Rodgers is not quite right, even though he's not quite himself, he still has enough to invoke the magic of the quarterback crunchtime and overcome the shortcomings of Green Bay Packers at other places on the ground. Rodgers played again Monday, and the Packers won 33-30 on the modest Niners with a redemptive goal placement at the end of the time set by kicker Mason Crosby.
"I appreciate that Aaron brings me a little closer to the smart shot," said Crosby shortly afterwards to ESPN.
Rodgers said during his post-match press conference: "It's very timely."
Not much has happened exactly as planned this season for the Packers. Rodgers injured his left knee during the first night and was taken from the field by cart. The Packers fans had the same view of last season, while Rodgers had missed nine games after fracturing his collarbone, which cost his team a series of eight consecutive playoff appearances.
Rodgers, of course, returned to the field that night to orchestrate a spectacular win back against the Chicago Bears. He has been in training ever since, sometimes looking like himself and sometimes not so much.
He would have suffered a setback in the previous Packers game, a loss to Detroit. Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young said at the ESPN broadcast halftime Monday that it was clear to him that Rodgers is not in good health, that Rodgers can not not planting his leg and driving through his throws as he would like, that he can & # 39; do not move as he would like.
Yet even on such a night, Rodgers threw for 425 yards and two touchdowns in the 25 assists in 46. And that happened without injured wide receivers, Randall Cobb and Geronimo Allison.
Mason Crosby scores first goal Monday night (TANNEN MAURY / EPA-EFE / REX)
The Packers needed all the Rodgers exploits. They fought the 49ers, arguably the worst NFL team after losing franchise quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a knee injury that ended the season. Quarterback C. J. Beathard provided 67 and 30-yard touchdown passes in the first period to wide receiver Marquise Goodwin.
The Packers were led 24-20 at halftime. They were always late, 30-23, at the end of the fourth quarter. Then Rodgers went to work.
He tied the game with a touchdown lob to wide receiver Davante Adams within two minutes of the end. The Niners had the chance to win after a long return to the kickoff and a late blow outside the boundaries called the Packers. But Beathard launched an interception.
The Packers had their last practice extended by an illegal contact penalty against cornerback Richard Sherman on a third down bag, a game on which Rodgers appeared to aggravate his knee injury. Still, he had 21 yards in the next game, and then three more finals were completed, the 49ers left the Green Bay outsiders inexplicably out of the frame.
That made it relatively easy for Crosby, who made the winning kick 27 yards. It was Crosby's fourth goal in four attempts for the night, bouncing back after a worse career performance against the Lions. He missed four goals and one more point.
"He had a tough week," Rodgers told ESPN. "But we love Mase …. It was a big blow for us. It will be a nice week off. "
The Packers come in with a 3-2-1 record, tied with the Minnesota Vikings and tied with the Bears 3-2 at the top of the NFC North. Rodgers now has some time for his knee to heal a bit. He presses to play without a splint after the start. The Packers season still has possibilities, although their immediate post-match schedule brings road games in L.A. against the mighty Rams, then to New England.
"It's rest," Rodgers said. "Then we look at our schedule and it becomes really difficult. We will discover what kind of team we are. "
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