Packers head coach Matt LaFleur | Green Bay Packers/Facebook
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur | Green Bay Packers/Facebook
Aaron Rodgers admits he wasn’t enthralled with the things he was seeing in London in the days leading up to his Green Bay Packers' 27-22 upset loss to the New York Giants at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.in London.
"Frankly, I don't like all this conversation about losing next week," Rodgers told ESPN in the aftermath of the Oct. 9 game. "I'm a firm believer in the power of words and manifestation. And we've got to check ourselves on that, because talking about that is not winning football."
Rodgers ire was raised after he heard Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander tell reporters he wasn't worried about the defense despite the unit not being able to stop the Giants on a pair of fourth quarter touchdown drives that sealed their 27-22 victory.
"I ain't worried, but if we lose next week, then I'll be worried," Alexander said, looking forward to the Packers showdown against the New York Jets on Sunday at Lambeau Field. "But it's a new situation for everybody. New circumstances, sleep patterns. It's a whole adjustment here in London."
Rodgers, who was openly excited about the team making the trip to London, has been careful to completely block out such talk.
“Ja's my guy, but we don't need to be talking like that," he said.
Against the Giants, thing started off promising enough for Green Bay, with the Packers jumping out to a 17-3 early lead in the franchise’s first-ever international game. At halftime, Rodgers and Company led 20-10. Then the wheels came off in the second half, as Rodgers was unable to connect with any of his receivers on an assortment of deep-ball patterns.
Overall, the two-time MVP completed just 47% of his throws with no touchdowns in the second half, after connecting at a 75% completion rate in the first half along with two touchdowns.
“So, it was really a tale of two halves,” Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said in a video posted to Twitter on Monday. “The first half I thought was, for the most part, pretty solid. The second half wasn't good enough.”
In the end, the Packers’ loss proved to be the NFL’s win, with the matchup drawing the largest international NFL game audience in history; ClutchPoints reported this week. There were 5.5 million viewers between television and digital viewing, along with a packed house at Tottenham.
The next international NFL game is scheduled for Oct. 30 between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Denver Broncos.