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At Home in the Dome: Packers QB Aaron Rodgers Hopes to Continue Dominance Indoors

Posted on by Zach Kruse
ALLGBP.com All Green Bay Packers All the Time

Remember back in the mid-90’s, when every time the Green Bay Packers ventured into an indoor stadium, you knew something horrific was about to unfold? Well, you can stash those memories away. The days when domed disasters were common place are now long gone with Aaron Rodgers under center.

The Packers quarterback has simply taken his game to another level when Green Bay plays in the comfortable conditions of indoor stadiums. In 15 career games indoors, including playoff games, Rodgers has thrown for nearly 4,400 yards with 31 touchdowns and six interceptions. The Packers are just 8-7 in those games, but most of the losses either weren’t Rodgers’ fault statistically or came early in his starting career.

On Sunday in Minnesota, Rodgers aims to continue that streak of statistical dominance indoors as the Packers take on the Vikings at the Metrodome.

Rodgers had one of the best games of his career at the Metrodome last season, as he threw for 301 yards and four touchdowns in the Packers’ 31-3 romp.  The 141.3 passer rating he posted in that game is his highest rating ever in an indoors game.

But it isn’t just the Metrodome. Some of the numbers that you can pick out of Rodgers’ recent run indoors are almost unreal.

If you take away last season in Detroit, when Greg Jennings had a long touchdown pass clank off his hands for an interception and he was knocked out of the game before halftime, Rodgers has 10 straight indoor games with a passer rating of over 110. That includes the Packers last two games at the Metrodome, where Rodgers has thrown for almost 700 yards and six touchdowns.

In his last three games, which began in Atlanta during the Divisional Round and ended in Atlanta this season, Rodgers is averaging 355 yards and has eight touchdown passes.

Even the the top quarterbacks in the NFL today can’t match what Rodgers has done indoors:

QUARTERBACK GAMES TD INT RATING
Aaron Rodgers 15 31 6 113.8
Peyton Manning 111 230 99 98.7
Drew Brees 57 110 63 96.3
Tom Brady 14 29 13 103.1

Rodgers’ success indoors can be traced to the Packers pass-orientated offense which thrives in conditions where the weather isn’t a factor and the track is fast. While it seems counterintuitive for a team that play its games outdoors at Lambeau Field to be constructed that way, the Packers offense has shown that it can be effective no matter where they are playing.

However, it’s simply hard to ignore how good they’ve been indoors.

Take a look at Rodgers’ career statistical record indoors:

YEAR WEEK OPPONENT YARDS TD INT RATING RESULT
2007 13 Cowboys 201 1 0 104.8 L
2008 2 Lions 328 3 0 117.0 W
2008 10 Vikings 142 0 0 72.9 L
2008 12 Saints 248 2 3 59.8 L
2009 3 Rams 269 2 0 126.9 W
2009 4 Vikings 384 2 1 110.6 L
2009 12 Lions 348 3 0 124.7 W
2009 17 Cardinals 235 1 0 117.1 W
2009 WC Cardinals 423 4 1 121.4 L
2010 11 Vikings 301 4 0 141.3 W
2010 12 Falcons 344 1 0 114.5 L
2010 14 Lions 46 0 1 34.7 L
2010 DV Falcons 366 3 0 136.8 W
2010 SB Steelers 304 3 0 111.5 W
2011 5 Falcons 396 2 0 117.0 W
TOTALS 15 G 4,335 31 6 113.8 8-7

Rodgers did have two pretty noticeable hiccups indoors in 2008 . The first actually came in Minnesota, when the Vikings were in his face all day and forced two safeties in the second quarter. The Packers had both a punt and an interception return for a touchdown in the second half, which limited his pass attempts to just 26. The second was in New Orleans during a pivotal Monday night contest during the ’08 season. The Packers were 5-5 coming in and looking to make a run at winning the NFC North, but the Saints had a perfect night offensively and Rodgers was off-and-on. The Packers lost three straight following New Orleans and finished 6-10.

Since then, however, Rodgers has been nearly unstoppable indoors. You could make a strong argument that four of Rodgers’ best games of his career—at Arizona in the playoffs, at Minnesota in 2010, at Atlanta in the playoffs and in Dallas for the Super Bowl—all came indoors.

Either way you look at it, it’s safe to say that the Minnesota Vikings and their struggling defense have their work cut out for them against Rodgers this weekend.

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Zach Kruse is a 23-year-old sports journalist with a passion for the Green Bay Packers. He currently lives in Wisconsin and is working on his journalism degree, while also covering prep sports for The Dunn Co. News.

You can read more of Zach's Packers articles on AllGreenBayPackers.com.

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22 thoughts on “At Home in the Dome: Packers QB Aaron Rodgers Hopes to Continue Dominance Indoors”

  1. Imagine if Rodgers played at home in dome. Not saying Lambeau Field should consider putting a tent over it or anything like that, just saying that IF Rodgers played 8 games out of the year in the Dome, he’d be unstoppable.

    1. For a guy that doesn’t play in a dome, however, Rodgers gets games indoors with the Lions and Vikings in the division. Add in the Saints, Falcons, Cowboys…and he should get 3 a year

  2. To carry over my thoughts from the previous post concerning dominance,again Rodgers Stats exude that inference but the defining aspect is the 8-7 record.When he gets that to a 2-1 or 3-1 ratio,then dominance would be better and more easly accepted because he’s winning.8-7 is a mouse eek above even and that stat is never dominate nor dominating.But I have high hopes of it changing.
    P.S. Before the 3 for the SB,the list and talent of those teams he won against,takes away some credence of the dominance factor.

    1. Rodgers is only 1 player on a 53-man team. At his one position, he has been dominant indoors. The stats say that much. Have the Packers been a dominant team indoors during that stretch? No, because you’re right, 8-7 isn’t a dominant team. But his individual stats indoors give credence to the usage of dominance here, I believe.

      1. Zach as I wrote his stats exude dominance but,unless the win-loss numbers exude the same,those stats are comparable to our defense giving up yards and yards between the 20’s,but if we win the game that stat for the other QB or team means zilch in the win columm.
        The QB can have records with the numbers and then he can have a record in wins.

        1. Put Joe Montana in the Rams and let’s see how the wins stack up…

          A QB can only do so much. He cannot block for his LT, he cannot play defense, and those were the problems when we lost those games, not Rodgers (though Rodgers is playing much better right now than he was)

    2. Well they’re 4-2 going back to 2010, which is a lot more pertinent than crap they did in 08 and 09. Not dominant but a solid winning percentage, considering, obviously, all dome games are on the road.

  3. Remember back in the mid-90′s, when every time the Green Bay Packers ventured into an indoor stadium, you knew something horrific was about to unfold?

    Yep…. TJ Rubley. 🙁

  4. hes right up there with the elite qb’s. looks like the only difference there is Rodgers has less picks percentage-wise (not looking at yards). Isnt it weird to go from gun-slinging Favre to Rodgers who doesnt throw many picks? its a completely different feel watching the two qbs

  5. Parse the numbers post 2008 and his record in domes jumps to 7-4, a very respectable .636 winning percentage. Makes one wonder if the Pack wouldn’t be better served by losing a few in the regular season and have to go play at Ford Field, The Superdome, or The GA Dome before they head to Super Bowl 46 – IN A DOME!!!

    1. Is it something that Rodgers hasn’t played a home playoff game yet? We’ll see one this year. But I get your point. He’s still kind of an unknown in the winter elements

      1. Actually Rodgers has done very well in cold weather games. Hell, against the rams there were 20+ mph gusts. PAT/Extra points were moving around in the wind.

        I’d like to see him in extremely cold games though, like the NFC Champ game in 07 that froze Favre’s ass off. You could really tell that the cold got to him.

        1. That’s more of what I meant. The really nasty elements we don’t really know yet. Rodgers didn’t play all that well in the NFC Championship game against the Bears. Was OK in Week 17 against the Bears in the cold. But was also lights out in a colder game against the Giants. So we’ll see.

  8. 1st game listed was in Texas stadium, 07 at Dallas, not quite a dome, semi-dome? Farve yanked for being horrible and elbow hurt, on NFL network too.. great article anyway, enjoy reading almost daily…

    1. Not quite a dome, but I still consider the old Texas Stadium as “indoors.” That’s why I included it.

      And thanks for thanks for the readership John! Really appreciate it; as does Al, I’m sure.

      1. having been to about 15 games in that thing, it was almost always too hot or cold, but no roof…the southern teams need more domes to keep the excessive heat out, my opinion of course!! thanks for the Packer coverage ,insights and reporting online jd

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