The Denver Broncos' defense flummoxed Aaron Rodgers during Sunday night's 29-10 choke slam at Mile High.
After being held to a meager 77 passing yards -- the lowest of his career in a game he's started and didn't leave due to injury -- Rodgers was at a loss to explain what went wrong.
"I think tonight is about what we didn't do," Rodgers said, via the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Â "We didn't execute in the run game, we didn't execute in the pass game and we didn't convert on third down (2 of 8) and that's why we got beat."
Wade Phillip's secondary was masterful at rerouting Packers receivers, forcing Rodgers to hold onto the ball far longer than he wanted to. Then the pass rush arrived in the second half, overwhelming the quarterback. It was the first time all season that Rodgers looked totally lost without Jordy Nelson.
Mike McCarthy had a different way to describe the beat down.
"You've got to compliment Denver. That's a humbling loss," he said. "I haven't had my ass kicked like that in a long time. They covered us very well. I thought we pass protected particularly well in the first half and there was a lot of green grass out there. So they did a heck of a job covering us."
The Packers remain on schedule to win the NFC North and return to the NFC Championship Game. One loss to a dominant defense and a Hall of Fame quarterback will not derail their season.
But Rodgers and the offense need to get on track after several subpar performances.
"This is the kind of thing that'll make everyone a little bit maybe more on edge this week," Rodgers said. "We've got another tough road challenge in Carolina, so these two games are going to show us how good we are after a 6-0 start. And we weren't good enough tonight."
Congrats, Panthers fans. You get to host a ticked-off, grudge-holding Aaron Rodgers after he was just embarrassed on national television, on a short week. Sean McDermott will earn his paycheck this week.
