While it’s not easy to imagine who else you’d pin it on, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers took the blame for his late-game interception that killed his team’s comeback chances against the Panthers.
Via Jason Wilde of ESPN.com, Rodgers admitted his frustration, which was evident by the treatment of his sideline computer tablet which he threw to the ground after it showed him a wide-open Randall Cobb, instead of Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis, who caught the ball.
“They caught that?” Rodgers said. “It’s a frustrating game [at times]. It’s exhilarating, but also frustrating when you make a mistake like that.”
The pick came after Rodgers led an impressive charge, shaking off the shackles the Broncos had placed on him the week prior to throw for 369 yards and four touchdowns.
“I had an easy opportunity for a pitch-and-catch touchdown, and I got scared by something,” Rodgers said, referring to the pressure from Panthers defensive tackle Kawann Short. “I can’t explain it. It was a mistake by myself. I’ll definitely be thinking about that one on the ride home. . . .
“I’m most disappointed about the last play. I’ll have to look at the other plays to give you a better opinion. The whole thing is disappointing. To be able to play that poorly and then to come back and be so close to sending it to overtime is frustrating.”
But even though they didn’t, Rodgers seemed to take some degree of solace in the fact they had moved the ball well prior to that pick, saying the Packers “feel confident if we have to come in here in the playoffs that we can get the job done.”
“We can play better on both sides of the ball,” he said. “It’s a good team, but we showed some things there. We can move the ball. We stopped them when we had to. We’ve just got to start a little faster in the game. We spotted them 20 quick points and then we’re down 23 at one point in the fourth.
“I think this is a talented team. We’ve shown in the past we can win on the road. I feel confident that we can do it down the line.”
They might get that chance, as the Panthers are now two games ahead (plus a tiebreaker) in the race for home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs.