What, you think just because Aaron Rodgers didn't play Sunday in the Packers' 45-41 victory over the Lions that he wasn't fully invested in the game?
Even though Rodgers was on Green Bay's sideline resting for the playoffs, he was all up in Matt Flynn's ear during the first half of a game in which the backup quarterback put on a passing performance for the ages.
"We went no-huddle exclusively in the first half, and Aaron Rodgers called it over the headsets -- the whole first half," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "I wanted him mentally into this game, prepared and able to operate as if he was playing."
What Rodgers really did was put Flynn in position to do what no quarterback in franchise history -- not Rodgers, not Brett Favre, not Bart Starr -- had ever done, throwing for single-game franchise records in yards (480) and touchdowns (six) in just his second career start.
"I can't say enough about Matt Flynn," McCarthy said. "The whole world got to see what we see everyday."
Yeah, thanks, in large part, to his week of preparation with Rodgers, which Flynn fully acknowledged.
"We talked all week about the no-huddle situations," Flynn said. "We mentally put drives together all week leading up to today. We sat down last night for an hour and talked about what we thought, different plays we wanted to get done. ... It was good to have him in my ear."
This is where it's worth mentioning that Rodgers might have just done Flynn a solid. Reason being that Flynn is a free agent heading into this offseason. And with what Flynn just accomplished, well, it's hard to believe teams won't be willing to pay up for his services.
"I'm not thinking about that right now," Flynn said, "but a lot of guys are jumping on my back, trying to be goofy and say things like that. But there's a lot ahead of this team still."
