The New England Patriots allowed quarterback Mac Jones just three passing attempts during the wild-weather game in Week 13 when his team beat the Buffalo Bills, 14-10. That might not fly with most quarterbacks around the NFL.
The Bills, for example, elected to throw 30 times. As the Patriots’ passing-stingy game plan became a league-wide topic, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was asked whether he’d ever let his coaches call a game with such a small amount of passing.
“I don’t think that would be necessary,” Rodgers said on “The Pat McAfee Show” this week. “We played in a lot of inclement weather. We played in pouring-down rain, we played in dumping snow, we played in some really bad wind games. There’s little adjustments to the plan you can make, and you realize what throws are your higher-percentage throws.
“I still think you can run screen passes, you can run run solutions, you can run keepers. I think you have to take some shots down the field. Regardless of how bad the wind is, you have to find a way to keep them honest, even if you throw an incompletion.”
Would you be okay with throwing the ball only 3 times in a game??
"I don't think that would be necessary.. regardless of how bad the wind is you can find a way to get some high percentage attempts in inclement weather" ~@AaronRodgers12#PatMcAfeeShowLIVE pic.twitter.com/PTYAcDlQag
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 7, 2021
Rodgers is one of the best and most seasoned passers in the NFL, with plenty of experience playing in inclement weather. The same is not true of Jones, a passer with almost zero experience in foul weather (after growing up in Florida and attending Alabama for college) and a weaker arm.
The game plan made sense for Jones, especially with so much success from the Patriots running backs. But maybe, with Rodgers, the Patriots would have gone about the game with a different approach.
