Green Bay Packers: Aaron Rodgers Has Been Simply Marvelous Since the Bye Week

Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers is having yet another great season in 2014. His performance thus far this season has him right at the top of the board in terms of becoming the NFL MVP this year.

When Rodgers won the same award in 2011, he had a season for the ages. No. 12 threw 45 touchdown passes versus just six interceptions for 4,643 yards. That added up to a passer rating of 122.5, which is the best single-season mark in NFL history.

Rodgers is also the highest-rated passer in NFL history with a career mark of 106.7. No. 12 has had a passer rating over 100 for six straight years now.

So far in 2014, Rodgers has thrown 35 touchdown passes versus just three picks for 3,652 yards. That adds up to a very robust passer rating of 119.0.

Rodgers is on pace to throw 43 touchdown passes versus just four interceptions for 4,495 yards. That stat line is almost a mirror image of his MVP season in 2011.

As great as his numbers have been so far in 2014, the zone Rodgers has been in the past five games is even more remarkable.

When the Packers had their bye in Week 9, the team was sitting with a 5-3 record and was coming off a very disappointing 44-23 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

In that game, Rodgers tweaked his hamstring, plus threw two interceptions. But even with those issues, Rodgers threw for 418 yards and a touchdown, plus had a rushing touchdown.

Still, there were questions heading into the bye week. How bad was his hamstring injury? How would the Packers do in the second half of the season after suffering another bad loss on the road?

Rodgers and the Packers answered those questions emphatically in Week 10, when Green Bay throttled the Chicago Bears 55-14 on a Sunday night.

Rodgers was truly exceptional. He threw six touchdown passes in the first half alone. Rodgers ended up leaving the game in the third quarter because the game was a blowout. No. 12 also didn't throw a pick and threw for 315 yards. His passer rating in the game was an incredible 145.8.

That game set the tone for the rest of the second half of the season for Rodgers and the Packers. Besides the fabulous performance of Rodgers against the Bears, the Packers made a change with their defense, as Clay Matthews played some inside linebacker at times during the game.

That change for No. 52 has continued throughout the last five games. The run defense of the Packers has been much improved since then as well. Green Bay has allowed only 90.2 yards-per-game via the rush since Matthews made the move inside.

But it has been the exceptional play of Rodgers that has carried the Packers to their 5-0 mark so far in the second half of the season.

Beginning with that game against the Bears, Rodgers has thrown 16 touchdown passes versus zero interceptions for 1,560 yards in five games. That adds up to a passer rating of 122.3.

The performance of Rodgers has transformed the offense of the Packers to become the most lethal in the NFL right now. The Packers lead the NFL in scoring with 423 points, which is a 32.5 per game average.

In the past five games, the Packers have scored 201 points, which works out to be 40.2 points per game.

While Rodgers has been playing at MVP-caliber level, he has also gotten some help from his teammates on offense.

Mike Roemer/Associated Press

The play of the offensive line has been very good during this five-game streak, both in run blocking and in pass protection.

So has the play of running back Eddie Lacy. No. 27 has rushed for 415 yards in those five games and scored three touchdowns. Lacy has also been great in the passing game, as he has caught 15 passes for 176 yards and four more scores.

The receivers have been fantastic as well. Jordy Nelson has 28 receptions for 528 yards and six touchdowns in those five games. Randall Cobb has 29 catches for 402 yards and one touchdown.

But the straw that stirs the drink for the offense of the Packers is Rodgers. It all starts with him.

There are three more games in the 2014 regular season for the Packers. I wrote a story about the remaining games recently.

I don't see any falloff for Rodgers and the Packers. Sunday will be a big test for No. 12 as he goes up against the fifth-ranked defense of the Bills in Buffalo.

That defense of the Bills made Peyton Manning look rather pedestrian last week, as he didn't throw a touchdown pass while he did toss two interceptions.

Even with that, I expect Rodgers to perform well once again versus the Bills. Unlike Manning, Rodgers can escape pass pressure, plus he can create big plays as he scans the secondary while he is on the move.

I also expect No. 12 to win his second NFL MVP award after this season.

The last five games have been a testament to that.