Green Bay Packers: The Record of Bart Starr, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers vs. the Minnesota Vikings

A little over two years ago, I wrote about the success that Bart Starr, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers had in their career versus the Chicago Bears.

All were very successful against da Bears.

Starr was 12-3 against Chicago when Vince Lombardi was his head coach and was 15-5 overall against the team from the Windy City.

In his 16 years in Green Bay, Favre was 22-10 against the Monsters of the Midway.

And so far in his career, Rodgers has a 18-5 record against his rivals to the south. In addition to that, Rodgers also beat da Bears in the 2010 NFC Championship Game.

Overall, the record of Starr, Favre and Rodgers against Chicago is 55-20. That’s a big reason why the Packers now have a 98-94-6 series lead between the two teams which dates back to 1921.

The Bears are definitely the biggest rival of the Packers. The next biggest rival would have to be the Minnesota Vikings. The two teams have been playing each other since 1961.

I wanted to check on the success that Starr, Favre and Rodgers have had against the Vikings.

Starr was 11-7 against the Vikings in his career. Most of his success came when Lombardi was his head coach. No. 15 was 10-2 against the Vikes with Lombardi on the sideline.

From 1968 through 1971, Starr had Phil Bengtson as head coach for three years and Dan Devine for one year. Starr was 1-5 against the Vikings during that time.

Overall, Starr threw 25 touchdown passes versus 14 interceptions for 3,001 yards. That adds up to a passer rating of 92.1. During his time under Lombardi, the Packers won five NFL titles in seven years, which included the first two Super Bowls. Starr was also the MVP in both Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II.

In 1969, which was Starr’s second-to-last season with the Packers, the Vikings won the NFL title, but lost in Super Bowl IV to the Kansas City Chiefs.

When Starr matched up against the Vikings, the head coach of the Vikings was either Norn Van Brocklin (1961-1966) or Bud Grant (1967-1971).

The Packers won the NFL Central Division in 1967 with Starr at quarterback, but in the last four years of Starr’s career, the Vikings won the division each season.

Favre became the starting quarterback of the Packers in 1992. No. 4 remained the starter through 2007. It was during that time when the Packers and Vikings really heated up their rivalry.

During that period, the Vikings won four NFC Central/North titles, while the Packers won the division seven times. Minnesota made nine postseason appearances during the Favre era, while the Packers made it to the postseason 11 times while Favre was under center.

Favre took the Packers to back-to-back Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl XXXI, while the Vikings never made it to the Super Bowl, although they did make it to the 1998 NFC title game.

Overall, Favre was 17-14 against the Vikings, and threw 54 touchdown passes versus 33 picks for 7,379 yards. That adds up to a passer rating of 86.3.

While Favre faced the Vikings for 16 years in Green Bay, he played under four head coaches. They were Mike Holmgren, Ray Rhodes, Mike Sherman and Mike McCarthy.

During that same time, the Vikings were coached by Dennis Green, Mike Tice and Brad Childress.

In a very ironic and biting twist, Favre also played for the Vikings and took on the Pack four times. In 2009, the year Favre led the Vikes to the NFC title game, No. 4 was 2-0 against the Pack. But in 2010, the year Rodgers led the Packers to a win in Super Bowl XLV, Favre was 0-2 against Green Bay.

Speaking of Mr. Rodgers, No. 12 has a career record of 15-8-1 against Minnesota in the regular season. Overall, Rodgers has thrown 47 touchdown passes versus just seven interceptions for 5,839 yards. That adds up to a passer rating of 108.4.

Rodgers also beat the Vikings in a 2012 NFC Wild Card Game 24-10 at Lambeau Field.

Since Rodgers became the starting quarterback of the Packers in 2008, the Packers have won the NFC North six times, while the Vikings have won the division four times.

Over the time Rodgers has been the quarterback of the Packers, the team has made it to the postseason nine times, while the Vikings got to the postseason six times during that period.

Since the rivalry between the two teams started in 1961, the Packers have been to five Super Bowls and won four of those games. The last time being in 2011 at Super Bowl XLV when Rodgers was the MVP of the game.

The Vikings have been to four Super Bowls and lost them all. The last time Minnesota played in the Super Bowl was in Super Bowl XI in 1977.

Rodgers had McCarthy as his head coach for most of his career in Green Bay, but over the past two years, his head coach has been Matt LaFleur. Rodgers is 3-0 versus the Vikings under LaFleur.

The bottom line is that Starr, Favre and Rodgers have been pretty successful against the Vikings, although not as good as they played against da Bears. Still, they are a combined 43-29-1 against Minnesota.

Rodgers can make it 44-29-1 with a win on Sunday at Lambeau Field.

Wisconsin Badgers: QB Graham Mertz Lives Up to the Hype

_{Graham Mertz of the Wisconsin Badgers}

Quarterback Graham Mertz was a highly sought-after recruit after what he accomplished his senior year at Blue Valley North High School in Overland Park, Kansas. That year, Mertz threw for 3,883 yards and 51 touchdowns. For his stellar play, Mertz was awarded Kansas’ Gatorade Player of the Year award, given to the top athlete in the state.

In addition to that, Mertz was also outstanding in the 2019 All-American Bowl. In a game playing against the top recruits in the country, Mertz played fantastic and threw a bowl-game record five touchdown passes.

ESPN ranked Mertz as the No. 1 quarterback in the 2019 recruiting class and the No. 21 prospect overall. Mertz had offers to play at schools like Ohio State, Georgia, Clemson, Alabama, Texas A&M, Notre Dame and many others. But Mertz decided to play for the Wisconsin Badgers.

Going into the 2020 season for the Badgers, Mertz had played well as a backup quarterback to Jack Coan last season, as No. 5 completed 9-of-10 passes for 73 yards.

But with Coan sidelined after undergoing foot surgery going into the 2020 season opener against Illinois, Mertz was just fabulous in his first ever start at quarterback for the Badgers.

Mertz was 20-of-21 in passing the ball for 248 yards and five touchdowns without a pick, as the Badgers whipped the Fighting Illini 45-7.

With that remarkable performance, Mertz tied and set a number of notable records.

For one, Mertz’s 17 consecutive completions tied the program mark set by Tanner McEvoy against Western Illinois in 2014.

Mertz set the program mark for completion mark in a game at 95.2% That broke the record of 94.7%, set in 2017 by Alex Hornibrook, who hit 18 of 19 attempts at BYU in 2017.

The five touchdown passes tied the program mark for a game, set by Darrell Bevell against Nevada in 1993 and by Jim Sorgi against Michigan State in 2003.

In addition to that, Mertz’s pass-efficiency rating of 277.1 is the third-highest mark in program history (minimum of 15 attempts) behind John Stocco (296.7 vs. Indiana in 2006) and Hornibrook (277.4 vs BYU in 2017).

Not a bad way to perform in your first start ever, huh?

“It was definitely fun,” Mertz said afterward to the media. “I owe it to Coach [Jon] Budmayr and Coach [Paul] Chryst, we took a ton of time, one-on-one meetings and really just sorted the game plan out and we knew what we were doing and I felt confident in my ability to go execute and I think there’s definitely some stuff we need to clean up. A lot more stuff we can clean up.”

_{Jake Ferguson of Wisconsin catches a touchdown pass from Graham Mertz.}

Tight end Jake Ferguson was Mertz’s favorite target in No. 5’s starting debut, as No. 84 hauled in seven receptions for 72 yards and three touchdowns.

“The kid’s smooth, the kid’s definitely smooth,” Ferguson said. “He was smiling cheek to cheek after that first touchdown. He knew, and everyone in that huddle knew, that we were rolling. It’s just awesome to see that out of him.”

The other touchdown passes that Mertz threw went to fullback Matt Stokke for 10 yards and wide receiver Danny Davis III for 53 yards. Davis ended up catching two passes for 72 yards.

Wide receiver Kendric Prior caught three passes for 44 yards, while running back Garrett Groshek caught four passes for 29 yards. Groshek also dropped the only incompletion of the night for Mertz.

Groshek did the lead the Badgers in rushing with 70 yards on 13 carries, while Nakia Watson gained 62 yards on 19 carries.

Mertz’s head coach was very pleased by the way the redshirt freshman played, as well as the support he received from his teammates.

“Him stepping in and playing the way he did, you’re happy for him,” Chryst told Big Ten Network after the game. “And I’m proud of the way everyone around him responded and helped him out. Good team win, good way to start the season.”

Green Bay Packers: The Tampa Bay Bucs Have Been Tough on Aaron Rodgers Through the Years

Unlike his success against the NFC North, with a combined 49-18-1 record in his career against the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings, Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers has had a much tougher time any time he faces the Tampa Bay Bucs.

Just as a comparison, when he plays teams from the NFC North, Rodgers has thrown 137 touchdown passes versus just 25 interceptions for 16,813 yards. That adds up to a cumulative passer rating of 105.7.

However, against the Bucs, the team in which Rodgers has just a 2-2 record, No. 12 has thrown eight touchdown passes versus seven interceptions for 1,048 yards. The passer rating for Rodgers against the Bucs is just 84.4.

Add to that, when the Packers play the Bucs at Raymond James Stadium like they will be doing this upcoming Sunday, Rodgers has had a history of getting a bit nicked up.

In the 2008 game against the Bucs at the Ray Jay, Rodgers suffered a shoulder injury in the second half and had to be replaced by backup Matt Flynn. The Bucs beat the Packers in that game 30-21.

In the 2014 game against the Buccaneers at the Ray Jay, Rodgers suffered a calf injury which would hobble him throughout the postseason. In an article by ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, Rodgers said, “I battled the flu the last couple of days pretty bad, and that’s why I was surprised I hurt my calf because I hydrated like no other. I had a great hydration test this week and was drinking a ton of water before the game. Unfortunately, the calf kind of gave up on me there.”

The Packers did at least win that game 20-3. Rodgers also played well through that injury in the game, as he threw for 310 yards and a touchdown.

The most difficult loss that Rodgers suffered was against the Bucs in 2009. Again, the game was in Tampa. The Packers were 4-3 going into the game, while the Bucs were 0-7 and were starting rookie quarterback Josh Freeman.

Rodgers did not play well, as he threw three interceptions (which included a Pick 6) to go with his two touchdown passes for 266 yards. No. 12 only had a 57.7 passer rating in the game. Meanwhile, Freeman threw three touchdown passes versus just one pick for 205 yards. The rookie had a passer rating of 86.1, as the Bucs won their first game of the 2009 season, 38-28.

The good news for Rodgers is that he has won has last two matchups against the Bucs. In the 2011 game between the two teams at Lambeau Field, Rodgers threw three touchdown passes versus one pick for 299 yards. Combine that with the last time Rodgers faced the Bucs which was in 2014, No. 12 threw for 609 yard and had four touchdown passes versus one pick. His cumulative passer rating in those two games was 110.2.

That passer rating looks a lot like his career passer rating, which is 103.0, the best in the history of the NFL.

Speaking of the best in the history of the NFL, this week Rodgers will be going up against six-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady.

Back in April, Rodgers was excited about the possibility of playing against his good friend. “I think it’s definitely strange,” Rodgers said, via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “It will be strange to not see him in a Patriot jersey. We played them a couple of years ago and thought that was probably the last time we’d play each other. Now, we get another chance.

“I think having him in the league is obviously great for the league and he’s a fantastic player. His career speaks for itself. Obviously, he still feels like he has a lot — he has something left to prove. I don’t think he does. I think it is only to himself that he can still do it. What he’s done kind of setting the bar for the rest of us with his health and his work ethic and his longevity is something I think that is appreciated now and is going to be appreciated even greater when he’s done playing.”

Brady has a mutual respect for Rodgers as well. In an article by Phil Perry of Sports Boston while Brady was still a member of the New England Patriots, Brady talked about his friend who also hails from northern California.

“Aaron Rodgers,” Brady said, “probably has the best mechanics in the NFL — probably in the history of the NFL.”

Brady wasn’t finished.

“No one’s been more efficient than him in terms of quarterback rating, which — I know what that means: yards per attempts, touchdowns per attempt, interceptions per attempt,” Brady said. “But I think it’s still pretty impressive to have that type of efficiency.

“What he’s done as a quarterback, I think it is inspiring, even for me. I watch his game and it makes me want to get out there and practice and improve because I think he’s so phenomenal with the way he manages himself in the pocket and his ability to throw the football is unlike anyone probably in the history of the league. It’s pretty awesome to watch.”

Rodgers and Brady have only faced each other twice and never in the postseason. The first time was at Lambeau Field in 2014, when the Packers beat the Patriots 26-21. Rodgers threw for 368 yards and two touchdown passes without a pick and had a passer rating of 112.6. Brady also threw two touchdown passes without an interception for 245 yards. Brady also had a nice passer rating with a 102. 7 mark.

The last time the two met was in the 2018 season, when the Patriots beat the Packers 31-17. Once again both quarterbacks did not throw a pick, but Brady had the better night throwing, as he passed for 294 yards and a touchdown, while Rodgers threw for 259 yards and two scores. Brady had a passer rating of 99.0, while Rodgers had a 89.2 mark in the game.

Rodgers and Brady came oh so close to playing each other in Super Bowl XLIX, but the Packers choked away a sure win against the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC title game at CenturyLink Field. The Packers dominated the game for 56 minutes leading 19-7 with four minutes to go, but somehow found a way to lose to Russell Wilson and the Hawks 28-22 in OT.

Wilson, by the way, is second to Rodgers in NFL history with a passer rating of 102.4. Brady is sixth in that category with a mark of 97.0.

Just looking at the numbers Rodgers and Brady have put up in their careers is mind-boggling.

In his career, Rodgers has thrown 377 touchdown passes to just 84 picks for 48,160 yards. In his career, Brady has thrown 553 touchdown passes compared to 183 interceptions for 75,946 yards.

So far in the 2020 season, Rodgers has led the Packers to a 4-0 record and has thrown 13 touchdown passes without an interception for 1,214 yards. That adds up to a passer rating of 128.4.

Brady has also put up nice numbers for the 3-2 Bucs, as he has thrown 12 touchdown passes versus four picks for 1,375 yards. That adds up to a passer rating of 96.8.

Bottom line, the game on Sunday looks to be a real beauty, with two of the very best quarterbacks in NFL history going up against each other. It sure won’t be a Bay of Pigs matchup. Plus, there is the history of Rodgers versus the Bucs, as he is 1-2 against Tampa Bay at Raymond James Stadium. Recent history says Rodgers will do better this time, but no matter what, the game on Sunday appears to be setting up as a classic.

Pro Football Hall of Fame: Comparing Boyd Dowler to Drew Pearson

Boyd Dowler and Drew Pearson

Back in August, it was announced that Drew Pearson of the Dallas Cowboys was selected to be a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2021. I believe it’s honor he definitely deserves.

But that same honor is true for another receiver who played a decade before Pearson. I’m talking about Boyd Dowler of the Green Bay Packers.

Both Pearson and Dowler have a lot in common.

First, they both played with quarterbacks who were eventually inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Pearson played most of his career in Dallas with Roger Staubach throwing him the ball. Dowler had Bart Starr getting him the ball for almost his entire career in Green Bay.

Both also played under two of the greatest coaches in NFL history. Pearson played under Tom Landry, while Dowler played under Vince Lombardi.

In addition, they put up similar stats in their NFL careers during the regular season.

Pearson had 489 receptions for 7,822 yards and 48 touchdowns while he played with the Cowboys. Dowler had 474 receptions for 7,270 and 40 touchdowns while he played with the Packers and a short time with the Washington Redskins.

Both were honored for what they did in the decade they played in. Pearson was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-1970s Team. Dowler was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-1960s Team.

Pearson was named to three Pro Bowl squads, plus was named All-Pro three times.

Dowler was named to two Pro Bowl squads, plus was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1959. In addition to that, Dowler was also named to the second team of the 50th Anniversary Team (named in 1969) and he was joined on that squad by the likes of Sammy Baugh, Bronco Nagurski, Harold “Red” Grange, Forrest Gregg, Raymond Berry, Mike Ditka, Danny Fortman, Mel Hein, Len Ford, Ernie Stautner, Joe Schmidt, Jack Butler, Jack Christiansen and Ernie Nevers.

Dowler is the only player on that second team not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Plus there is more to really like about what both Pearson and Dowler accomplished during their NFL careers. It’s about what they did in the postseason.

Pearson played in 22 postseason games and caught 68 passes for 1,131 and eight touchdowns. No. 88 also played on one Super Bowl championship team.

Dowler only played in 10 postseason games, but he caught 30 passes for 440 yards and five scores. No. 86 played on five NFL championship teams, which include wins in Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II. Dowler caught a touchdown pass in the 1961 NFL title game, another in the 1966 NFL title game, two more in the 1967 NFL title game (the “Ice Bowl”) and another one in Super Bowl II.

The big difference between Pearson and Dowler in the postseason is that Pearson, although he played in twice as many games, never caught a touchdown pass in a championship game, while Dowler caught all five of his in NFL title games. Games that his team eventually won as well.

When I was in Canton for a party that the Packers threw for Jerry Kramer just prior to the induction ceremony, I ran into Rick Gosselin (Talk of Fame Network), who is a voter for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Gosselin is on two very important committees for the Hall. One is the Senior Selection Committee and the Contributor Selection Committee.

Rick asked me what I was going to do next, as he knew I had been writing and advocating for Kramer’s rightful induction in Canton for years. I told Rick that there several more deserving seniors on the Packers who I would continue to support and write about.

One of those players was Bobby Dillon, who was inducted to be part of the Class of 2020 in Canton.

Rick told me to make sure that I wrote about Gale Gillingham, Ron Kramer and Dowler when I was writing about former Packers who deserve to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

I have done that, plus have written about three other Packers (Lavvie Dilweg, Verne Lewellen and Cecil Isbell) who played under Curly Lambeau in Green Bay. All three were finalists like Dillon in 2020, but unfortunately they didn’t get inducted.

Pearson was one of the finalists who didn’t get inducted in 2020 too. But he has another chance in 2021. I hope he makes it this time.

I also hope that Dowler at least gets an opportunity to be a finalist. He certainly deserves to be. I mean, if you are among the top 45 players on the NFL 50th Anniversary Team, you should have been a finalist many, many years ago.

But Dowler still hasn’t gotten that opportunity, nor has Ron Kramer, who was also on that 50th Anniversary Team.

That definitely needs to change. Maybe it will now if Pearson gets inducted. I believe Drew will get a bust in 2021. Boyd deserves that same honor in the near future.