The last time Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers played in Chicago he issued the infamous ‘I still own you’ remark.
Despite a broken thumb and now a rib injury that forced him to leave last Sunday’s game, the Packers quarterback will get a chance to show his dominance once again over the Chicago Bears (he’s 24-5 as a starter in his career).
Rodgers said Tuesday during his weekly appearance on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ that he expects to play Sunday after receiving ‘good news’ on his scans.
‘I plan on playing,’ Rodgers said.
Rodgers left Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles late in the third quarter with what was described as an oblique injury. In his press conference afterward, Rodgers called it a rib injury. Rodgers said Tuesday he was having a hard time breathing after a couple hits in the game.
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One, he said, early in the game ‘rattled the rib cage.’ He received X-rays at Lincoln Financial Field to rule out a punctured lung.
“I was in considerable pain and felt like I couldn’t move out there really much at all,” Rodgers said. ”Wanted to make sure it wasn’t something really, really serious.’
Aaron Rodgers happy for Jordan Love’s showing vs. the Eagles
Packers backup quarterback Jordan Love came in the game and led two scoring drives, a touchdown and a field goal, in the eventual 40-33 loss. Love finished 6 of 9 for 113 yards, including a slant pass that Christian Watson took 63 yards for a touchdown.
“It was really nice to watch,” Rodgers said of Love. “I feel like an older brother watching him do well. I care about the kid a lot. Fun to see his growth. Fun to just see him just kind of relaxing out there. Once you can make a few plays it kind of takes the anxiety out of the body and the tension out of the body. To see him make accurate throws and do what he’s been doing, it’s been fun to watch.”
Aaron Rodgers says he doesn’t need a doctor to give him ‘an excuse’ not to play
Rodgers said regardless of the team’s record — the Packers are 4-8 — he would be out there playing if he’s able.
‘And not just cause it’s Chicago,’ Rodgers said. ‘That’s what you do. When you’re a player you go out there and if you can play, you play. You don’t need some doctor to give you an excuse. If you can go out there and compete and you have competitive greatness in your body, in your heart, in your mind, you go out and play.’
Rodgers suggested he feels players today may be more unwilling to take the field if they’re not 100% due to a potential drop-off in their play. That’s not the case with him, he said.
‘I would assume that’s probably more prevalent now than maybe it used to be,’ Rodgers said. ‘I think there is understandably, I guess, there’s fear around what does it mean if I’m not a hundred percent and I don’t play my absolute best going out there. Can I live with that reality? And I think many people can’t. For me, I can because I know what competitive greatness is.“
Rodgers said winning the remaining five games is his priority.
‘We’re not eliminated,’ Rodgers said, referencing the team’s slim playoff chances. ‘We got a chance to run the last five and see where we stand after that. That’s the focus for me. Go to one of my favorite places to play down in Chicago and hopefully get a big win.”
