Aaron Rodgers always finds a way

For nine minutes, Aaron Rodgers watched the Cowboys’ offense play defense. The Cowboys marched down the field and ended the drive with Dak Prescott faking a handoff to Ezekiel Elliott before scrambling 11 yards for the touchdown. But in praising the brilliance of the play call — the power football, Prescott’s deceptiveness, Elliott’s durability, and the Cowboys taking the 31-28 lead — the commentators were also a bit regretful. Prescott had failed to complete a pass to Dez Bryant in the end zone a play before, which stopped the clock, and the commentators were befuddled at the logic behind it.

Stopping the clock made no sense at all. The point of the drive wasn’t just to score; it was to make sure that Rodgers had as little time as possible when he got on the field. It was a near-perfect nine-minute drive that became fatal because of an ill-advised pass that took six seconds off the clock.

Even scoring the touchdown was counterproductive. If Dallas had done it perfectly, Prescott would have stopped at the 1-yard line and milked the clock as much as possible.

Then again, it probably wouldn’t have mattered at all. Rodgers got the ball with 1:13 left and beat the Cowboys with 11 seconds to spare.

There are few things in the NFL as awe-inspiring as when Rodgers is in the zone. When he came onto the field to lead the game-winning drive, with his best receiver, Jordy Nelson, on the sideline, and Davante Adams, who had just returned from a concussion, as his go-to target, I recalled his press conference in 2014 when the Packers started 1-2 and the fan base got frustrated.

After a 162-yard performance in a loss against the Lions, Rodgers went to the podium and said “Relax. We’re going to be OK.”

Dan Bailey’s kick after the Dallas score was a touchback. Rodgers’ first pass was to Adams for 14 yards. Then he threw one to Michael Bennett for the same amount. In two passes, he was in Dallas territory. The camera kept panning to Prescott on the sideline and it was hard to tell who felt more powerless: the Cowboys quarterback or his defense. Two incomplete passes and two runs by Aaron Jones and the Packers took a timeout with 29 seconds left, on the Cowboys 30-yard line.

It was third-and-8. The game on the line. It was the Cowboys’ last and best chance to put an end to what felt like an inevitable touchdown. Rodgers snapped the ball and as soon as he dropped back, the pocket collapsed. He hadn’t even set his feet. No time to throw, no space to breathe. The defense had him trapped, he was either going to have to force a bad throw, throw the ball away, or take the sack. No one would blame him regardless of which option he chose.

Of course, that’s not what he did because Rodgers is a cheat code. He ran. He took off to the left, escaped one arm-tackle, out-ran and high-stepped away from David Irving, ran up the sideline, and then barreled into Byron Jones at the end of the 18-yard run. The game was over after that. The Packers were in the red zone, with 29 seconds, a new set of downs, and Rodgers at his most ruthless. There was no pretense about what was to happen next, it became a formality.

Yet, it was an amazing formality where Rodgers taught the Cowboys’ defense that when he fails, it’s not because of anything that they did, it’s just that he made an easily fixable mistake.

On first down, he threw the ball to Adams, who was one-on-one with Jourdan Lewis on the left side of the field. The ball got there in the end zone, but it was just a fraction behind Adams, and Lewis was able to turn around and bat it down. The Cowboys defender celebrated his achievement.

So on the next play, Rodgers went to it again. The same play. This time he put the ball a little bit higher and Adams was able to snag it with Lewis unaware of what was going on until the touchdown was called.

Maybe in a different world it would be an arrogant call, but Rodgers is so good that it was just a comical display of his power.

When Rodgers is playing at his best, it feels like you’re watching a walkthrough. Like he’s demonstrating how to beat difference coverages, get free plays, and take advantage of mismatches before the actual game.

It doesn’t feel like the defense is trying, except for the fact that they really are. Bless their souls, they’re trying so hard, Rodgers just sees right through everything they do. When the defense does finally corner him, he pulls out the absurd and demoralizes them even further. It must be hell to play against, but it’s incredible to watch.

There was an interview segment that aired during the game where Rodgers was asked to pick his favorite passes. One of those he picked was his first big play in the 2010 Super Bowl. The other was the Hail Mary to beat Detroit, but the truly impressive thing is that he was able to pick a few out of so many. He has an endless highlight reel of using his arm, legs, and brain to dissect, escape and out-think defenses. He beat Dallas last year in the same fashion as he did on Sunday. When his arm, legs, and brain aren’t enough, he resorts to the miraculous like the Hail Mary against the Lions, Cardinals and the Giants.

Somehow he seems to finds a way.

The commentators in rueing the time left on the clock knew what the audience was waiting for, what the Cowboys tried to prevent and what is one of the most compelling things about the NFL. Given the time, Rodgers was going to put on a show. With the way Rodgers was playing the whole game, the defense might as well have stood on the sideline with Prescott and the offense because there was nothing they could do to stop him.