After Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was stopped short of the end zone on a third down scramble in the first half of last Sunday’s 34-30 loss to the Bengals, he returned to the sideline for a few words with coach Mike McCarthy.
Cameras stayed on the two men as those words got heated enough that other Packers players stepped between the quarterback and coach. After the game, McCarthy said Rodgers was “frustrated” by the call for a play action pass and let the coach know his feelings. McCarthy chalked it up to Rodgers being competitive and Rodgers said the same thing on his ESPN Milwaukee radio show Tuesday.
“Yeah, that was definitely over and done with after we talked on the sideline,” Rodgers said, via the Green Bay Press-Gazette. “Mike and I have been together for a long time and had a lot of success together, a lot of big wins, a lot of fun on the field, in the meeting room, conversing during the weeks, and there’s a lot of mutual respect there and a lot of competitiveness and passion on both sides, and every now and then that passion collides and it’s something we talked about later and move forward together.”
If ever there was a day for frustration with the offense to boil over, it was Sunday. Rodgers threw two interceptions for the first time since 2010 and they failed to capitalize with touchdowns when the Bengals were turning the ball over in the first half. That allowed Cincinnati a route back into the game in the second half and they followed it to the win.
The Packers have the week off to figure out how to avoid a repeat and get back to having “a lot of fun on the field.”