Aaron Rodgers’ 4th loss in an NFC title game raises a huge question for the Green Bay Packers: What if this was it?

What if this was it?

What if Aaron Rodgers’ last play as a Green Bay Packer at Lambeau Field was a misfire in a crucial moment, a third-and-goal incompletion into heavy traffic in the final minutes of a conference championship game? What if this was one of Rodgers’ best chances to win a Super Bowl slipping away, with a fastball to Davante Adams whistling toward the goal line but broken up after Rodgers missed a potential opportunity to pick up yardage — or even score — with a scramble to his right?

Absolutely no one was considering that possibility in the moment Sunday afternoon.

But …

What if Rodgers never takes another snap as a Packer? What if he has to live with the anguish from Sunday’s 31-26 season-ending loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a disappointment that intensified because coach Matt LaFleur opted not to go for it on fourth down from the 8 on the Packers’ final possession, instead settling for a field goal that cut their deficit to five points but still required they score a touchdown when they got the ball back?

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If they got the ball back …

They never did.

Rather than taking a fourth-and-goal shot with the league MVP, the Packers took Mason Crosby’s 26-yard field goal and kicked off with 2 minutes, 5 seconds remaining and all three timeouts left, hoping the best quarterback in NFL history would give them the ball back with a chance to win.

“That wasn’t my decision,” Rodgers said. “(I) understand the thinking. Above 2 minutes with all of our timeouts. But, yeah, that wasn’t my decision.”

Had it been Rodgers’ decision, of course he would have requested the fourth-down opportunity, one more chance to diagnose and deal, one more opening to make a play with a red-zone offense that had been potent all season.

Instead, LaFleur sent out his kicker for a field goal and a kickoff, then asked his defense to get Rodgers the ball back.

Tom Brady and the Buccaneers ran seven plays, drew a timely pass interference penalty on third-and-4 with 1:41 left and ran out the clock.

Ran out the Packers’ season.

Ran out the final seconds of Rodgers’ time in Green Bay?

That’s where the conversation veered Sunday evening, first to that pivotal decision-making sequence, then to Rodgers’ future. In a 14-minute news conference, Rodgers admitted he was feeling “pretty gutted.” He wouldn’t go so far as to say Sunday’s loss would “haunt” him, but he openly acknowledged his heartbreak.

“I don’t know about ‘haunted,’ ” he said. “That word doesn’t really fit in my vocabulary, I don’t think. This one definitely stings. And it’s going to for a long time, especially with the way it played out and the chances we had and the opportunities to seize that game at various points. Yeah, it definitely hurts. … This won’t haunt me. It’s just going to hurt for a while.”

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When Rodgers was asked about how this year’s team became special to him, especially at this point in his career, he first pointed to the “special friendships” he had strengthened but then also pointed to a cold, harsh reality.

“A lot of guys’ futures are unknown,” he said, “myself included. That’s what is sad about it most. Getting this far … obviously there’s going to be an end to it at some point, whether we (made) it past this one or not. But just the uncertainty is tough and the finality of it all.”

It wasn’t just Rodgers’ words that created concern across Wisconsin, a reminder that, even for legends, this sport’s grandest glory can be so elusive. And it wasn’t just Rodgers’ acknowledgment of the finality that accompanied Sunday’s loss that raised new questions about what’s next.

It was his tone. Those who have covered him for 16 seasons in Green Bay sensed something in Rodgers’ demeanor and in the manner of his introspection.

Was this an informal goodbye? A hint at a farewell? Or just a 37-year-old veteran trying to sort through so many emotions and such hollow confusion?

How will Rodgers go on from here?

“I don’t know,” he said. “I really don’t. There are a lot of unknowns going into this offseason now. I’m going to have to take some time away for sure and clear my head and just kind of see what’s going on with everything.”

LaFleur couldn’t even bring himself to think of life without Rodgers, praising the value of his leadership and the strength of his voice while quickly answering a question on whether Rodgers would be QB1 in Green Bay when training camp begins this summer.

“I sure as hell hope so,” LaFleur said. “I mean, the guy’s the MVP of this league. He’s the heart and soul of our football team. So hell, yeah, he better be back here.”

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Rodgers is signed through 2023, so contractually he is slated to be back in Green Bay next season. Unless the Packers choose to trade him. Or if he makes a surprising move to retire. Or if he threatens retirement as a way of forcing a trade.

All of those scenarios seem unfathomable on the surface. But the NFL has always been a “ya never know” league with rich drama and incredible theater. So hey … ya never know.

The Packers, after all, drafted quarterback Jordan Love in the first round last April, signaling they had identified their top candidate to succeed Rodgers when he’s done in Green Bay. Whenever that might be.

But if the awkward and somewhat bitter vibes of draft weekend were obvious last spring, Rodgers’ elite play this season was an indicator that the needle in his fuel tank is a long way from “E.”

He threw for 4,299 yards and a league-high 48 touchdowns during the regular season. He threw only five interceptions and posted a 121.5 passer rating that was the second-highest mark in NFL history. (Rodgers also owns the record, a 122.5 rating in 2011.)

The Packers finished fifth in the league in total yardage (389 per game) and first in scoring (31.8 points per game).

For the second consecutive season, however, and for the fourth time in his career, Rodgers’ thrill ride abruptly stopped one game short of the Super Bowl. And on Sunday evening, it was clear that the finality was suffocating. Gutting.

It probably will become more so in the immediate future as Rodgers replays the missed opportunities in his head and on his tablet at home. Before LaFleur’s coaching misstep in the final minutes, Rodgers missed three throws that could have produced a tying score.

On three consecutive possessions in the second half, Brady threw interceptions. After the latter two, the Packers failed to pick up a first down and punted.

Once again, Rodgers learned the avalanches that begin near the top of the mountain produce the most painful falls.

“It’s really tough to get to this point,” Rodgers said. “Really, really tough. … It’s a grind just to get to this point. And that makes the finality of it all kind of hit you like a ton of bricks. That’s why it’s a gutting feeling in your stomach.”

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Clarity about Rodgers’ future won’t materialize quickly. These kinds of pivotal decisions normally take time and great thought and thorough discussion.

Would Rodgers really want to start anew elsewhere after finding such a fun-filled groove this season? After winning 28 games (playoffs included) during his two seasons with LaFleur?

Is Brady’s reboot with the Buccaneers suddenly an appealing blueprint that might lead Rodgers into deeper thought about his own final chapter(s)?

Last week, well before Sunday’s intense NFC title game at Lambeau Field, well before the missed opportunities and the fourth-and-goal field goal and that galling end to everything, Rodgers referred to his future as “a beautiful mystery.”

He emphasized his urge to stay present, to immerse himself in each moment, not to worry about things beyond the week or beyond his control. His playing future, he said, “is stuff I’m just not going to focus on.”

“Because to me,” Rodgers continued, “it is a beautiful mystery what happens down the line. But there will be a time when we meet that future. For right now, I’m just going to enjoy the present.”

By Sunday evening, the present had become less than enjoyable as Rodgers processed the ninth playoff loss of his brilliant career and the fourth with a Super Bowl trip on the line.

The despondency in Rodgers’ voice and the reflection on his face seemed to allow for that heavy open-ended question to linger.

What if this was it?