Before the NFL season started, a lot of people circled Week 9’s showdown between Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers as a super showdown between two of the league’s top quarterbacks.
While that’s still the case on paper, the season has trended in very different directions for both signal-callers. Rodgers’ turbulent offseason has given way to another solid season in his Hall-of-Fame career while the hype following Mahomes has given way to a very pedestrian season so far. Mahomes has thrown an interception in seven-straight games and the Chiefs are 3-4 heading into the big game.
While Mahomes is in his fifth NFL season, Rodgers is in the midst of his 17th, so the Packers quarterback comes in with the knowledge and history to understand that it’s normal for even the best players to struggle from time to time. Rodgers was asked about Mahomes’ struggles during his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday and said that he’s not too concerned about his upcoming opponent’s recent issues.
“When it comes to Pat, I’m not worried about him,” Rodgers said. “And I don’t think anybody really should be worried about him. When you’re a transcendent talent like that, it’s only a matter of time (before you struggle some). …The most difficult thing is sustained greatness, I think in any sport. There’s an idea of plateauing at your peak and being able to sustain an incredibly high level of play that puts you in the upper echelon. And I believe that’s Pat’s destiny.
“He’s already established an incredible level of play, and he probably will for the next 10 or 15 years, depending on how long he wants to play. But that is definitely the most difficult thing because they are just waiting for you to show a chink in the armor, a slight fall off so that they can, you know, they can bury you.”
If anyone knows about calling for calm at a time when everyone wants to panic, it’s Rodgers.
Mahomes has the ideal opportunity to get back on track this Sunday when the 4-4 Chiefs host the 7-1 Packers. If this turns into a true battle of former MVPs then we could be in for quite the show.