New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick made his respect of Aaron Rodgers perfectly clear after Sunday evening’s game at Lambeau Field.
Usually, a head coach will shake hands and offer a few words to the opposing quarterback on the other team before they part ways. But in a tremendous display of sportsmanship Belichick spent some extra time to congratulate Rodgers following Green Bay Packers’ overtime win.
The Packers narrowly avoided a massive (and rare) upset loss at home. They escaped with a 27-24 victory, as Mason Crosby made a 31-yarder in overtime to seal the win. The victory moved Green Bay to 3-1 on the year, while the Patriots fell to 1-3 for the second consecutive year.
Rodgers completed 21 of 35 pass attempts for 251 yards and two touchdowns against one interception. He was only sacked once on the day, and the 38-year-old got plenty of help from the ground game which racked up 199 yards and a score on 35 carries.
This was only the third-ever regular season meeting between Belichick and Rodgers. The four-time league MVP is known 2-1 against the Patriots head coach, having won the first meeting back in the 2014 season (26-21).
Four years later, the Patriots returned the favor by outlasting Rodgers’ Packers 31-17 at Gillette Stadium. Rodgers was sidelined for the Packers-Patriots 2010 meeting in Foxborough because of a concussion.
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Despite an excellent outing by backup Matt Flynn in that meeting, the Patriots escaped with a 31-27 victory. The Packers didn’t lose another game in 2010, finishing 10-6 en route to a Super Bowl 45 championship.
Rodgers and the Packers will now travel overseas to take on the New York Giants at Tottenham Hotspur New Stadium in London, England. As for Belichick and the Patriots, they’re returning home to prepare for a Week 5 showdown against the Detroit Lions.
