Aaron Rodgers returned to the field after his Covid break and celebrated a win with the Packers against the Seattle Seahawks. Later the quarterback talks about his emotions during and after the game.

Munich/Green Bay – There is hardly any NFL player who has been in the spotlight as much as Aaron Rodgers in the past two weeks. But the interest in the 37-year-old was not based on his performance on the football field, rather it was a Corona infection that heated up millions of fans and observers.

On 2 November, the Green Bay Packers quarterback tested positive for the corona virus. In itself, this would not have been too spectacular in the face of rising infection figures if the signal caller had not claimed to be “immunised” in the summer.

But because in the course of his illness it became public that the playmaker had not been vaccinated, and he also tried to defend himself with bizarre statements in the “Pat McAfee Show” of the ex-professional of the same name, he came more and more into the firing line.

Much criticism of Rodgers

However, the NFL MVP wanted no part of any of that over the weekend. After ten days in isolation, Rodgers was able to return to the Packers’ practice facility on Saturday – without practicing beforehand, he was back on the field in Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks. And with success.

Green Bay won 17-0 to secure their eighth win of the season in their tenth game. No team in the NFC has a better record. Rodgers himself did not have the best of days. He completed 23 of his 37 passes for 292 yards. He did not score a touchdown, but he did have to accept an interception.

For the 37-year-old, however, the game was not just one of many games in his long career, instead it sparked his emotions. “There were a lot of emotions for sure,” he explained later when speaking to US reporters, “It’s good to be back with the guys. It’s good to be back home. It’s good to be back on the pitch. “

Rodgers overcome by emotion

One moment in particular touched the 2011 Super Bowl winner. As he left the field with teammate Preston Smith after the game, many Packers fans celebrated him at the exit of the stadium. The quarterback got misty-eyed: “It was good to feel all those emotions, and it was good to be back with the guys. “

A snowy home win ❄ GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/MQ14BUYd4J

– Lambeau Field (@LambeauField) November 15, 2021

The past two weeks have not left Rodgers without a trace. Returning to venerable Lambeau Field, which once again offered freezing temperatures and snowflakes in frozen-tundra style, was special for the playmaker.

“I just don’t take these things for granted. It was fun to walk off the field a winner. To beat this team that we’ve had some battles with over the years. So when I walked off the field next to Preston, who I love so much, and the crowd reacted in that way, it was very special. “

Packers teammates brought him food

But it wasn’t just the love from the fans and the win against the Seahawks that made the “Gunslinger” happy. After the game, he said he had received get-well wishes from friends, teammates, coaches, team members and fans from all over the world. Especially the messages from members of the Packers were “special” and “meaningful”. Some even brought him food, he said.

“It was definitely a good time to reflect on the past 17 years and continue to try to live each day with a lot of gratitude,” he summed up after his Covid break.

And further: “This gratitude also includes sincere thanks to all the people who have reached out to me. I heard from people all over the country, all over the world, asking about me, how I was doing, sending me words of affirmation and support. And that was really special.”

Admittedly, in preparation for the Seattle game, the past few days have been anything but easy for Rodgers despite the support. He was kept in the loop with countless phone calls and zoom calls. Much of what head coach Matt LaFleur said, Rodgers even repeated verbatim to get into the game plan.

Praise for Head Coach LaFleur

But then the choice of plays made it easy for him. “Matt limited the long plays at the beginning of the game. I think that settled me in a little bit,” Rodgers praised his head coach.

The latter, in turn, had to admit after the game that not everything had gone as planned, but that he had more than enough confidence in his quarterback that he could lead his team to victory even without a single practice.

Rodgers himself, who felt “pretty good overall” after his infection on the field, is now looking forward to one thing above all: a normal week of training in Green Bay, at the end of which there will be a divisional duel with the Minnesota Vikings.