How Many Losing Seasons Has Aaron Rodgers Had With the Green Bay Packers?
Despite winning just one Super Bowl when he could’ve and probably should’ve won more, there’s no denying Aaron Rodgers is one of the most talented quarterbacks in NFL history. And despite his overall struggles in the postseason — well, at least in the NFC Championship Game — the four-time MVP is also one of the winningest signal-callers in league history.
As of the end of the 2022 campaign, Rodgers owned the fourth-highest regular-season winning percentage of every NFL quarterback with at least 200 starts, trailing only Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Ben Roethlisberger.
And speaking of the 2022 season, the Green Bay Packers certainly didn’t meet expectations and for just the third time in his career, Rodgers ended the year with a sub-.500 mark — at least in terms of his personal win-loss record.
In 2017, the season during which Rodgers fractured his right collarbone, the Packers finished 7-9. In the seven games he started, however, Green Bay went 4-3. So we’re not counting that one. But here’s a quick look back on the other three.
Aaron Rodgers went 6-10 in 2008, the year he replaced Brett Favre as the Packers starting quarterback
Rodgers’ first losing season was 2008, the same season he finally took over as the Packers’ starting quarterback after sitting on the bench behind Brett Favre for three years. Here’s what that 6-10 season looked like.
| Week | Opponent | Result | W-L |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vs. Vikings | (W) 24-19 | 1-0 |
| 2 | at Lions | (W) 48-25 | 2-0 |
| 3 | vs. Cowboys | (L) 27-16 | 2-1 |
| 4 | at Buccaneers | (L) 30-21 | 2-2 |
| 5 | vs. Falcons | (L) 27-24 | 2-3 |
| 6 | at Seahawks | (W) 27-17 | 3-3 |
| 7 | vs. Colts | (W) 34-14 | 4-3 |
| 8 | Bye | ||
| 9 | at Titans | (L) 19-16 (OT) | 4-4 |
| 10 | at Vikings | (L) 28-27 | 4-5 |
| 11 | vs. Bears | (W) 37-3 | 5-5 |
| 12 | at Saints | (L) 51-29 | 5-6 |
| 13 | vs. Panthers | (L) 35-31 | 5-7 |
| 14 | vs. Texans | (L) 24-21 | 5-8 |
| 15 | at Jaguars | (L) 20-16 | 5-9 |
| 16 | at Bears | (L) 20-17 (OT) | 5-10 |
| 17 | vs. Lions | (W) 31-21 | 6-10 |
Despite the losing record, Rodgers performed well enough for a first-year starter, completing 63.6% of his passes for 4,038 yards with 28 touchdowns against 13 interceptions. The 13 picks remain his career-worst.
He went 6-9-1 in 2018, the season during which Mike McCarthy was fired
The 2018 season, the campaign following Rodgers’ aforementioned collarbone injury, didn’t go much better for the Packers and it cost Mike McCarthy his job.
Following a Week 13 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, which dropped Green Bay to 4-7-1, McCarthy was relieved of his duties and replaced by offensive coordinator Joe Philbin, who went 2-2 in four games under the interim tag.
Here’s how the 2018 season played out.
| Week | Opponent | Result | W-L |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vs. Bears | (W) 24-23 | 1-1 |
| 2 | vs. Vikings | (T) 29-29 (OT) | 1-0-1 |
| 3 | at Washington | (L) 31-17 | 1-1-1 |
| 4 | vs. Bills | (W) 22-0 | 2-1-1 |
| 5 | at Lions | (L) 31-23 | 2-2-1 |
| 6 | vs. 49ers | (W) 33-30 | 3-2-1 |
| 7 | Bye | ||
| 8 | at Rams | (L) 29-27 | 3-3-1 |
| 9 | at Patriots | (L) 31-17 | 3-4-1 |
| 10 | vs. Dolphins | (W) 31-12 | 4-4-1 |
| 11 | at Seahawks | (L) 27-24 | 4-5-1 |
| 12 | at Vikings | (L) 24-17 | 4-6-1 |
| 13 | vs. Cardinals | (L) 20-17 | 4-7-1 |
| 14 | vs. Falcons | (W) 34-20 | 5-7-1 |
| 15 | at Bears | (L) 24-17 | 5-8-1 |
| 16 | at Jets | (W) 44-38 (OT) | 6-8-1 |
| 17 | vs. Lions | (L) 31-0 | 6-9-1 |
Even with a losing record, Rodgers was selected to his seventh Pro Bowl that year, although he declined the invitation due to injury.
He wasn’t quite as efficient as he typically is, completing 62.3% of his passes, the second-lowest mark of his career. But he still threw for 4,442 yards, the second-highest total of his career.
And his TD-INT ratio was ridiculous as he tossed 25 touchdowns against just two picks, giving him the third-best mark of all time among quarterbacks to attempt at least 300 passes in a season.
Rodgers went 8-9 in 2022 as the Packers missed the postseason for the first time since 2018
Coming off back-to-back NFL MVP wins, Rodgers certainly didn’t have his greatest season in 2022, although some of that can be attributed to the fractured thumb he suffered in Week 5.
Despite not missing a single game, the injury certainly hindered his performance as he threw the second-most interceptions of his career (12) while throwing his fewest touchdown passes (26) in three years. Here’s how the 2022 season played out.
| Week | Opponent | Result | W-L |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | at Vikings | (L) 23-7 | 0-1 |
| 2 | vs Bears | (W) 27-10 | 1-1 |
| 3 | at Buccaneers | (W) 14-12 | 2-1 |
| 4 | vs Patriots | (W) 27-24 (OT) | 3-1 |
| 5 | vs Giants | (L) 27-22 | 3-2 |
| 6 | vs Jets | (L) 27-10 | 3-3 |
| 7 | at Commanders | (L) 23-21 | 3-4 |
| 8 | at Bills | (L) 27-17 | 3-5 |
| 9 | at Lions | (L) 15-9 | 3-6 |
| 10 | vs Cowboys | (W) 31-28 (OT) | 4-6 |
| 11 | vs Titans | (L) 27-17 | 4-7 |
| 12 | at Eagles | (L) 40-33 | 4-8 |
| 13 | at Bears | (W) 28-19 | 5-8 |
| 14 | Bye | ||
| 15 | vs. Rams | (W) 24-12 | 6-8 |
| 16 | at Dolphins | (W) 26-20 | 7-8 |
| 17 | vs. Vikings | (W) 41-17 | 8-8 |
| 18 | vs. Lions | (L) 20-16 | 8-9 |
