The New York Giants and the Green Bay Packers are both undefeated after week 11 of this NFL season, but that wasn’t enough for Joe Judge to decide a game winner. His call cost the Giants in their loss against Aaron Rodgers and he was ridiculed on social media by many including one of his own players.
The “aaron rodgers number” is the number of yards Rodgers needs to pass Brett Favre on the all-time passing list. The New York Giants made a bad call by having Joe Judge signal a running play when they were down by two points. Aaron Rodgers took a parting shot at Joe Judge for his awful decision.
Joe Judge was dismissed on a Tuesday, but Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers believes his time with the New York Giants should have ended on a crucial third-and-nine the Sunday before.
Rodgers isn’t the only one who believes this. In New York’s 22-7 defeat against the Washington Football Players, Judge showed a complete lack of trust in his team. Nonetheless, Rodgers, who has been honing his “no cares left to give” character on The Pat McAfee Show, took a dig at the coach who only lasted two seasons in New York.
Joe Judge has shown a significant lack of faith in the New York Giants.
The New York Giants’ head coach, Joe Judge, walks off the field after the team was beaten by the Washington Redskins | Elsa/Getty Images
The NFL has been talking about Judge’s choice to run a quarterback sneak on third-and-nine from his own five-yard line with the game tied at three points in the second quarter. It’s just one of the numerous narratives that have spawned from what has turned out to be a spectacular Week 18.
Isn’t it true that adding an additional game paid well for the league?
Aside from the extra games, the outcome would have been the same if Judge had done what he did in Week 1. His admirers would have booed him brutally, which he did. His ability as a head coach would have been called into doubt, and it was. His 10-23 record over two seasons ultimately did him in, but his lack of bravery and competency in the second quarter of the game against Washington surely contributed to his dismissal.
Keep in mind that Judge not only called the quarterback sneak in that instance, but he also didn’t do it in a creative way. The Giants came out in a winning configuration that was virtually tighter.
Consider that this was Judge’s second consecutive quarterback ruse. On both second and third down, he proceeded with same play.
Judge attempted to explain his decision-making after the game. He was attempting to make a punt.
“At the end of the day, look, we’re backed up.” I needed to find a place to stay. “We’re going to keep moving ahead,” Judge told NBC Sports. “I wasn’t going to live through what occurred in Chicago last week.” We were going to make some space for the bet. That’s what we did. We made space for the punt, safeguarded it, and made sure it was adequately covered. We played the field position scenario just the way I intended. We were able to keep them on the following trip.”
That is the very worst response.
On The Pat McAfee Show, Aaron Rodgers took a jab at Judge.
Rodgers’ weekly performances on The Pat McAfee Show have a reputation for being rather diverse. After all, they’ve been the venues for his anti-vaccination and COVID-19 outbursts.
It’s no surprise, therefore, that the league’s happenings were a topic of discussion on Tuesday. The Packers had their own game, a 37-30 defeat to the Detroit Lions, but it was basically a pointless warm-up game since Green Bay had already clinched the top seed. Rodgers, for example, only appeared in the first half of the game, and he shouldn’t have even been on the field for that long.
Rodgers and McAfee were talking about the Raiders and Chargers’ historic Sunday Night Football matchup, which went into overtime and may have resulted in a tie. Of truth, given the circumstances in Week 18, a draw game would have assured that both teams qualified for the playoffs in an otherwise winner-moves-on scenario. Both the Raiders and the Chargers could have chosen to end the game in a tie and take their chances in the playoffs, but Las Vegas quarterback Derrick Carr was determined to win, maybe as a result of a pregame talk with Rodgers.
The Chargers were eliminated from the playoffs as Las Vegas won by a field goal in overtime.
“You want to win the game, therefore you play to win the game.” Nobody wants to be a part of anything like kneeling to remove a tie. Breaking analyzing that tremendous game, Rodgers told McAfee, “I would lose my mind.”
He then proceeded to fire the now-famous shot at Judge.
“Do you know what would drive me insane, maybe even more than that?” Let’s go in goal line personnel and run a QB sneak on third and nine on the minus five.”
Rodgers would never allow a play like that to be run by the Green Bay Packers.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers #12 looks on before the game versus the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Later in the week, he had some opinions about Joe Judge. | Getty Images/Nic Antaya
A laughing Rodgers is a frank Rodgers, but there is undoubtedly truth in what he went on to say about Judge’s decision for the Giants.
It’s crucial to understand the background in this case.
Jake Fromm, a second-year quarterback who has only been in three games for the Giants this season, was the one who called the play in. This season, he has one score and three interceptions to his credit.
Given usual NFL hierarchy, Fromm was going to bite his teeth and run the third down no matter what Judge called in. He couldn’t do anything about it, much alone confront his head coach, since he wasn’t in a position to do so.
Green Bay is in a very different circumstance.
Rodgers is a three-time MVP and may be on his way to become a four-time MVP. He’s played 17 seasons and won a Super Bowl.
He and head coach Matt LaFleur have done an outstanding job of fusing LaFleur’s run-heavy ideas with Rodgers’ willingness to sling the ball, and LaFleur has established himself as one of the league’s best and most respected head coaches. With that stated, the dynamic in Green Bay is much different from that of the New York Giants. Rodgers is driving the offense with LaFleur, not simply receiving instructions, thanks to his knowledge and ability to read a play before it is called.
When the Packers are on a roll, Rodgers can audible and check out of almost any play he wants, and he does it at a fairly consistent rate.
In that case, if LaFLeur wanted to run two quarterback sneaks with Rodgers at the helm, the renowned quarterback made it obvious that such plays would be rejected.
To a scream of laughter, Rodgers added, “Call that one in Matt, and let’s see what happens.” That s*** ain’t going to fly.”
That’s one of the perks of being one of the all-time great quarterbacks. It’s also a fascinating look at the relationship between Green Bay’s play-caller and quarterback.
In the end, it’s the difference between a team that wants to make its third consecutive NFC Championship trip and one that dismissed a coach after just two years.
ESPN and Pro Football Reference provided the statistics.
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