Rosen leads Cardinals against Rodgers at Lambeau

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[December 01, 2018]    Aaron Rodgers and Josh Rosen are about as far removed on the quarterbacking spectrum as possible.

 

Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers' 14th-year quarterback, is a two-time MVP, Super Bowl champion and the NFL's career leader in passer rating and touchdown-to-interception ratio. Rosen, the Arizona Cardinals' first-round draft pick, pilots an offense that is last in the NFL in scoring, total offense and passing offense.

Rosen and Rodgers met before this year's draft and immediately hit it off, and they'll face each other when the Cardinals visit Lambeau Field on Sunday.

Rosen hopes to one day be as feared as Rodgers is by defensive coordinators around the league.

"It's cool how head coaches and defensive coordinators against him are always fearful ‘that' play can happen anywhere at any time," Rosen said on Wednesday. "That sense of lethality at any time and that sort of fear, only a few guys have in this league. Hopefully I can gain that someday."

Neither quarterback has been lethal this year. Rodgers has thrown 20 touchdown passes against one interception but ranks just 26th in completion percentage (61.7 percent). Green Bay has lost four of five and, at 4-6-1, is on the fringes of the NFC playoff chase.

One of the league's highest-profile players, Rodgers has faced rare criticism in recent weeks as the offense has gone nowhere fast.

"I think this is kind of normal when you've had sustained success for a long time," Rodgers said on Wednesday. "We've seen this over the years. We saw it in 2009 when we were 4-4. We saw it in '12 when we started slow and in '16 when we were 4-6. This is the news cycle. This is what you guys are talking about. You guys are doing your job. We're not playing as well as we have in the past and these are the kinds of stories that are going to come out."

Rosen, who will make his ninth career start on Sunday, is 32nd out of 34 qualifying quarterbacks in passer rating. In the highest-scoring season in NFL history, the Cardinals are averaging just 14.1 points per game and have reached 20 just twice.

While far from the only problem, Rosen has dealt with growing pains, including throwing an interception in six consecutive games and totaling 13 turnovers.

"Aaron will be the first to tell you he made a lot of mistakes, and it's nice to hear from someone who is glad to have learned from those mistakes," Rosen said. "Hopefully, I gained some knowledge so I don't trip over similar wires."

The Packers have tripped over several wires this season, failing to win back-to-back games all year. Now, they'll have to win five in a row, and most likely get some help, to return to the playoffs. That scenario seems implausible given their inconsistent play and growing injury list.

"You've just got to keep swinging," Packers receiver Davante Adams said. "That's really what it's about. That's how the good teams, or the great teams, bounce back. It's tough saying bounce when you're this deep into the season but, at the same time, everything is still out there in front of us.

"We don't really control our destiny as much as we would like at this point, but we still do. So go out and win these last five and everybody buy in and do what we've got to do to make sure we get in."

The Packers are expected to get wideout Randall Cobb (hamstring) back after he missed six of the last eight games. He's officially questionable, along with left tackle David Bakhtiari (knee), guard Lane Taylor (quad) and cornerbacks Kevin King (hamstring) and Bashaud Breeland (groin). Green Bay will remain without defensive lineman Mike Daniels (foot) and safety Kentrell Brice (ankle, concussion).

For the Cardinals, safety Budda Baker (knee), left tackle D.J. Humphries (knee) and linebacker Haason Reddick (neck) are questionable.

--Field Level Media

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