Rodgers continues to amaze coaches, teammates
Alex Van Pelt was no different than the other 78,292 in attendance at Lambeau Field on Sunday night.
Standing on the sidelines, the Green Bay Packers quarterbacks coach could only smile in astonishment, as he watched Aaron Rodgers systematically dismantle the Chicago Bears' defense during his historic first-half performance in the 55-14 rout.
Seeing an MVP quarterback throw for 315 yards and six touchdowns in one half can have that effect, especially when it powers a 42-0 lead at halftime.
Since the Packers' 19-7 loss to Detroit in Week 3, Rodgers has completed 123-of-175 passes (70.3 percent) for 1,710 yards, 20 touchdowns and two interceptions for a 134.7 passer rating
"Most of the time you just sit back and go, 'Wow. I've not seen that happen before,'" Van Pelt said. "I've watched a lot of NFL football and he's special. He does things others can't do. The throw he made on the move to the right to Jordy, nine out of 10 guys sail that ball out of bounds or don't get it there. He puts it on the spot 45 yards down the field with velocity.
"That was a special performance."
Van Pelt added there were a few times during Sunday's win over the Bears where he glanced over to backup quarterbacks Matt Flynn and Scott Tolzien and just smiled. There was nothing you could say.
Rodgers was crisp on nearly all of his passes with his mastery of the offense never more evident than when he checked from a zone-beater to man-beater. The Bears' inability to match the maneuver created a lapse in the secondary, allowing Nelson a ginormous hole to produce a 73-yard touchdown.
The check and throw require an expert knowledge basis of an offense and quick thinking ability, but Rodgers made it look rudimentary. After sitting as low as 29th, the Packers' offense has improved its ranking every week to now sitting in 12th (357.8 yards per game).
It's placed Rodgers back into MVP consideration. His NFL-leading 120.1 passer rating is only a few ticks under the 122.5 rating that garnered him the award in 2011.
As his coaches attest, that's more to the puzzle than just awards for Rodgers. After all, he wasn't even selected to the Pro Bowl when the Packers won the Super Bowl in 2010.
The end game is a championship and this Sunday's game against Philadelphia is another step. Rodgers has been nearly perfect at home this year with a 140.1 passer (74-of-108, 1,072, 15 touchdowns, zero interceptions).
"MVP I don't think really matters to him," Van Pelt said. "It's about championships here. Individual accolades take care of themselves. But he's definitely been the MVP of the team, for us with the things he's done this year. If others recognize that, great, but as long as we're winning and he's a big part of that – I'm sure he'll be happy with just winning championships."
-whodkiew@pressgazettemedia.com and follow him on Twitter @WesHod.