A difficult season for Aaron Rodgers hit rock bottom on Sunday in Detroit when he threw three interceptions before the end of the third quarter, his highest single-game total in almost five years.
The mistakes from the Packers quarterback came early and often in the NFC North tilt against the Lions, beginning when he threw a pass that was picked off in the end zone by safety Kerby Joseph on Green Bay’s first drive of the game. On the Packers’ second possession, a Rodgers fourth-down pass was intercepted by 2022 No. 2 pick Aidan Hutchinson at the goal line.
Coming out of the locker room at halftime, the afternoon didn’t get much better for Rodgers. Just over five minutes into the third quarter, the reigning MVP again threw an interception that was snagged inside the five-yard line by Joseph.
All three of the picks came in the red zone, marking the first time in his career that Rodgers had given the ball away while within striking distance of a score.
Sunday’s performance was the first time since 2017 that Rodgers threw three interceptions in a single game and just the fifth time ever—in 236 career starts—he’s reached the unfortunate milestone. The last time he was picked off three times was in Week 15 of the ’17 campaign against the Panthers.
To make matters worse, Rodgers’s dismal showing came against a porous Lions defense that came into Sunday’s game with a 1–6 record. Detroit entered the contest ranked last in the league in points and yards allowed per game.
Rodgers managed to finally produce a positive highlight late in the third quarter when he found Allen Lazard for a 20-yard touchdown. However, the interception-laden performance dug the Packers into a hole that even the future Hall of Famer wasn’t able to dig out of as Green Bay fell to 3–6 with a 15–9 loss to their division rivals.
Rodgers ended the game 23-of-43 with 291 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.
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