Aaron Rodgers says he can make it through Super Bowl on injured leg
He’ll have to get past Seattle’s dominant defense first, though.
Sure, the injured calf bothered him significantly against the Dallas Cowboys, Aaron Rodgers admitted after the Green Bay Packers advanced to the NFC Championship. But he thinks he has enough left in the tank to finish out another title run.
“I think I’ve got 120 minutes left in me so I’m going to do everything I can to play all of those minutes,” the quarterback told the team’s official site, referring to the two games that stand between him and a second Lombardi Trophy.
It certainly wasn’t pretty for much of Sunday afternoon. Obviously bothered by his slightly torn calf, Rodgers limped through the game, his trademark mobility all but gone. On the opening drive, he had to throw a touchdown pass hopping on one leg.
“The touchdown to Andrew (Quarless) was a great example of it. As I moved forward in the pocket, I realized I couldn’t do a whole lot,” Rodgers said. “The pain in my calf helped me make that decision [not to scramble] very easy.”
"It reminded me of that time Byron Leftwich was at Marshall, playing with a broken leg, and his teammates were carrying him up to the line," Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk told NFL.com. "Aaron wasn't being carried, but he wasn't getting around very well on that leg."
As the game wore on, however, Rodgers began to loosen up. Late in the third quarter, with the Packers trailing by eight, he caught fire, leading his offense for a pair of late scoring drives that were the difference in their 26-21 win. His full mobility never returned, but Rodgers did begin sliding around in the pocket, extending plays. His game-winning touchdown to rookie tight end Richard Rodgers -- a blistering laser between two Cowboys' defenders -- came after he dodged defenders in the pocket and scrambled out to the perimeter.
Now comes an even bigger challenge on the road against Seattle. The Seahawks' defensive front will test Rodgers' mobility and their lockdown secondary won't allow him much room to throw.
“You’ve just got to be efficient against them, which is tough because they take away just about everything you do,” Rodgers said of the Seahawks’ defense. “It’s not an intricate scheme, but it doesn’t have to be when you have those kinds of players.”
The Packers and Seahawks met at CenturyLink Field in the season opener. Even when healthy, Rodgers threw for just 189 yards in an ugly 36-16 loss.
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