Packers have massive QB advantage over Rams
Aaron Rodgers threw 48 touchdown passes, nearly broke his own single season passer rating record and is the presumptive winner of his third NFL MVP.
Jared Goff turned the ball over 36 times the last two seasons, finished 23rd in the NFL in passer rating in 2020 and is still dealing with an injured thumb, while John Wolford has made two NFL starts and hasn’t practiced all week due to a stinger.
Without much of a doubt, the Green Bay Packers will enjoy a massive advantage at the most important position in the game during Saturday’s NFC Divisional Round playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams.
It’s unclear who will start at quarterback for the Rams. Goff has practiced in full each of the last two days despite a thumb injury, while Wolford, who started the last two games, hasn’t practiced after injuring his neck against the Seattle Seahawks last weekend. As of late Wednesday, Goff looks the likely starter, but Rams coach Sean McVay could be playing the waiting game to see if Wolford, who now looks like the preferred option, can get healthy enough to play.
Regardless of who starts for the Rams on Saturday, the Packers will have the better quarterback, and by a sizable margin.
Rodgers actually threw six more touchdown passes in 2020 (48) than Goff has in his last two seasons (42). Rodgers’ passer rating, which finished at 121.5, was 31.5 points higher than Goff’s 90.0. Goff threw 29 interceptions in the last two seasons, while Rodgers has just nine.
Rodgers finished as the top-rated quarterback and overall player at Pro Football Focus in 2020. Goff ranked 26th among quarterbacks.
At Football Outsiders, Rodgers was the No. 1 quarterback by DVOA and the No. 2 quarterback by DYAR, Goff finished 20th in DVOA and 21st in DYAR.
There’s nothing to suggest, based on just two games, that Wolford is a meaningful upgrade. His passer rating finished below 65.0 in both starts. He’s never thrown a touchdown pass in an NFL game. He threw 44 times in the two games and averaged 5.9 yards per attempt. A good athlete, Wolford does provide more of a running threat. But he is not a threatening passer.
The Rams finished 22nd in the NFL in scoring, 25th in scoring percentage and points per drive, and 19th in yards per play in 2020. The passing game, which ranked 19th in adjusted net yards per attempt, was largely to blame. Overall, Rams quarterbacks posted a passer rating of 88.4, just a few points ahead of the Chicago Bears.
McVay’s unwillingness to name a starting quarterback despite Goff practicing in full the last two days probably says everything you need to know about the state of the Rams quarterback room.
On the other side, Rodgers and the Packers offense will certainly have their hands full with Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey and the talented Rams defense. In fact, Saturday might be the offense’s biggest test of the season. The Rams can cover and pressure. This is an elite group that finished ranked first in the NFL in points and yards allowed.
But at least the Packers offense vs. Rams defense is strength vs. strength. The Packers ranked first in the NFL in scoring, and Rodgers produced one of the greatest single seasons from a quarterback in history. The same can’t be said for the Rams offense vs. the Packers defense. While Mike Pettine’s group took a few months to get going, this is now an ascending defense playing its best football over the last month or so, and there’s good reason to think they’ll have the upper hand against both of the Rams quarterbacks.
Football games are won and lost in many different ways, but oftentimes, a simple glance at the quarterback play of the two teams can provide all the winning clues. The Packers, who opened the week as a touchdown-favorite on Saturday, have the kind of sizable advantage at quarterback that can easily determine a playoff game.
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Potential playoff X-factors for Packers against Rams
