‘Even I Could Unretire and Drop 50 Yards vs. Dolphins’: LeSean McCoy Downplays Aaron Rodgers’ 2-TD Performance

After a couple of rough games following the fracture of his left wrist, it seems Aaron Rodgers is finding his rhythm again. In fact, his last few games might have been his best stretch since leaving the Packers in 2022.

On Monday night, Rodgers threw for 224 yards and two touchdowns while completing 85.2 percent of his passes, his best completion percentage since 2014. Over the past two weeks, his 75.2 percent completion rate leads the NFL, his 116.0 passer rating ranks fifth, and his 8.3 yards per attempt mark is sixth.

That last stat might be the most exciting, as it shows Rodgers has finally started throwing the ball downfield more. He has looked like himself over the past couple of weeks, including in the big 28-15 win over the Miami Dolphins in Week 15.

However, while most were impressed with Rodgers’ elevated performance, some were not. One of the latter was LeSean McCoy, who got very worked up when pushed into a conversation about Rodgers’ potential for the rest of the season.

“The dude is 40, and he looks like it. … Oh my god… He played the Dolphins,” McCoy said, while raising his voice on a segment of Speakeasy, before adding,

“I could come out of retirement right now and go 50 yards. Right now. Yeah, against the Dolphins? And I’m outta shape.” 

Rodgers has certainly regressed some with age. But over the last couple of weeks, there is no doubt he has been turning back the clock. McCoy talks about using your eyes to evaluate rather than using stats. Well, watch some of the throws Rodgers made over the last two weeks, Shady. The elite flick of the wrist and the pinpoint accuracy are still there.

And we’re not sure why the Dolphins were catching strays there either. The Steelers had 135 rushing yards on 32 attempts against Miami, a 4.2 average that doesn’t suggest any old retired guy could come in and get 50.

Aaron Rodgers always plays better in December

It’s not the craziest idea to think Rodgers could be turning it up a notch in December, either. He claims not to like playing in the cold like everybody else, citing his California upbringing. But the numbers tell a different story.

He is 52-21 in regular-season games in December and January, which is good for a .712 winning percentage. That’s his best split for any month of the season, which means the cold does agree with him, no matter what he says.

He has clearly taken a step up over the last two games (both played in December), and that has meant pushing the ball downfield. Pittsburgh has seen more intermediate and deep throws over the last couple of weeks than they have since 2018.

Rodgers has eight completions of 20+ yards over the last two weeks, sixth in the NFL. In the first 13 weeks, Rodgers had just 23 (25th), which is less than two per game.

If Rodgers can keep the December magic going, he could return to the playoffs for the first time since 2021 as well. If the Steelers win their next two games against the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns (and the Ravens lose to one of the New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers), Pittsburgh will clinch its first AFC North division title since 2020 next week.

That would end a four-year drought with no division crowns for the Steelers, which is their longest since the 1980s.