Aaron Rodgers got much attention for his post-match comments after the Packers’ 14-12 win over the Buccaneers last Sunday. During the interview, Rodgers appeared to allude to the fact that he informed someone from the Packers coaching staff that the Buccaneers ran away a game behind on their late touchdown after seen a replay on the Jumbotron. Tampa Bay was then flagged for late play ahead of their unsuccessful two-point conversion attempt.
Rodgers has since clarified his comments, saying what he gleaned from the Jumbotron happened before Tampa Bay’s two-point attempt. Rodgers said he was communicating with Packers coach Matt LaFleur about the Packers’ timeout situation during the Buccaneers’ last practice when he relayed something he saw on the Jumbotron.
“I’m not going to go into detail about what I saw, or even if it had any real impact on the game,” Rogers said on “The Pat McAfee Show”. “I think it’s a bit irrelevant, but I thought I saw something. I went downstairs, passed it on to Matt. Whether it’s related to Joe (Barry) or not, I’m not sure. Either way, it had nothing to do with the two-point conversion.”
Given Rodgers’ recent comments, it’s easy to see how his post-game comments were taken out of context.
Despite sharing information with his coach, Rodgers refused to take credit for the Packers’ successful save on the Buccaneers’ two-point attempt. Rodgers alluded to the Patriots controversy in 2007 in an attempt to play down its impact on the final moments of last Sunday’s game. Ironically, the Patriots are the Packers’ next opponent, as Green Bay hosts New England on Sunday.
“Even if you know something is coming and you relay it, you still have to go out and run,” Rodgers said. “I mean, I think that was Spygate’s goal, okay, to steal signals. We still have to go out there and run the game and, in our case, stop them. But that had nothing to do with the two-point conversion.”