Green Bay Packers: Ranking Aaron Rodgers’ 5 best career games
By Joe Kipp
5. Week 2, 2013 vs. Washington Redskins
34-of-42, 480 passing yards (career-high), four touchdowns, 146.0 passer rating
In a Packers 38-20 win over the Redskins in Week 2 of 2013, Rodgers posted a career-high 480 passing yards on a staggering 81 percent completion rate. Along with tossing four scores, Rodgers recorded a 146.0 passer rating, one of the highest performances of his career.
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Oddly enough, the game started off slow with the Packers kicking a field goal and being forced to punt on their first two drives. Rodgers then kicked it into high gear by throwing touchdown passes on the next three drives to Randall Cobb (35 yards), Jordy Nelson (14 yards) and Jermichael Finley (three yards). Green Bay led at halftime by a score of 24-0, with Rodgers throwing for over 300 yards in the first half alone.
Rodgers was dealing all game in former coach Mike McCarthy’s dink-and-dunk West-Coast style offense. The Packers’ passing game was predicated on quick, short timing routes, which played to the advantage of Washington’s weak secondary, allowing Rodgers to rack up yards quickly. Receiver James Jones was the main beneficiary, catching 11 passes for 178 yards (both career-highs).
Had he not been pulled from the game early, Rodgers likely would have cracked 500 passing yards and might have broken Norm Van Brocklin‘s single-game record of 554 passing yards. There have only been 22 instances of a quarterback passing for 500 yards or more in a game in NFL history. We may never see Rodgers break 480 passing yards again, which is why this game cracks our top five.