Gerry Dulac: Aaron Rodgers is showing why he's one of the NFL's cold-weather kings
Published in Football
PITTSBURGH — In the past two games, especially Monday night, Aaron Rodgers showed why he is one of the greatest cold-weather quarterbacks in NFL history, certainly in the past 35 years.
Only Tom Brady, who played 20 of his 23 seasons in New England, has a greater winning percentage than Rodgers among quarterbacks who have played in cold-weather cities since 1990, according to Pro Football Reference. The numbers are based on a minimum of 50 regular-season games played in December and January.
Rodgers added to that legend against the Miami Dolphins on Monday, when he had his highest completion percentage in 11 years (23 of 27, 85.1%) and threw two touchdowns after it was 17 degrees at kickoff.
That pushed his overall record to 52-21 (.712) in December and January, second only to Brady, whose winning percentage of .776 (80-23) is the best among quarterbacks in those cold-weather months. Of those games, Rodgers was 24-8 with 69 touchdowns when the temperature was below freezing.
Other than Brady, only Brett Favre (57) and Ben Roethlisberger (54) have won more games in December and January than Rodgers, though their respective winning percentages are not as good as Rodgers.
Rodgers has also thrown more touchdowns in those months (139) than Favre (128) and Roethlisberger (120).
"Aaron's got a ton of experience playing in cold weather," offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said. "He likes to play in cold. He certainly threw the ball well the other night."
Quarterbacks such as Peyton Manning, who played nearly his entirely career in a dome, and Matthew Stafford, who has played in a dome (Detroit) and warm-weather city (Los Angeles), were not included on the list.
Andy Dalton had a career record of 27-22 (.551) in the months of December and January, but only 11 of his 18 seasons were in cold-climate Cincinnati. He was 20-16 (.555) in those two months with the Bengals.
Similarly, Carson Palmer had a career record of 24-26 (.480) with 11,864 yards and 76 touchdowns in the final two months of the season. But, similar to Dalton, he spent only seven of his 14 seasons in Cincinnati. He was 12-14 (.461) in December and January with the Bengals.
Brady, of course, rarely played in a dome because none of the teams in the AFC East have indoor stadiums. Same with Roethlisberger. The AFC North comprises four teams that play outside in cold-weather cities, including Baltimore, though their average December temperature is 45 degrees, according to various weather websites.
Not exactly the same as Pittsburgh (39 degrees), Buffalo (37) or Green Bay (31). When Rodgers and the Steelers beat the Ravens two weeks ago, the game-time temperature was 44 degrees.
Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes aren't included because they haven't played 50 games yet in those months, but each is headed near the top of the list. So is Lamar Jackson.
Mahomes is 29-9 (.763) with 10,087 yards and 65 touchdowns in 38 regular-season games in December and January, though the average Kansas City temperature in December is 43 degrees, 6 degrees warmer than Buffalo. Mahomes, though, is 11-1 when the temperature is 35 or below and 4-0 when it is 18 degrees or colder.
Allen is 28-10 (.736) with 8,256 yards and 70 touchdowns in those months, but he is also 14-2 in games when it is below freezing.
Jackson has played fewer games in December and January than Mahomes and Allen, but he is 23-5 (.821) with 5,124 yards and 56 touchdowns in those months.
Rodgers won't have to worry about the elements Sunday when the Steelers play the Detroit Lions. But he has remaining games after that in Cleveland and Acrisure Stadium, where the weather won't be so cozy.
If it's cold, even if it snows, Smith won't have to worry about adjusting his game plan, not with Rodgers.
"I think it certainly depends on who is playing quarterback," Smith said. "It's not only being cold, but sometimes when it snows, being in the wind; wind has been a factor a few times this year.
"But I've been in snow games where, actually, if it's nice outside and snowing, like one of those blue-bird ski days, sometimes the passing game is better because the rush is slowed down. We've seen that before."
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Here is a list of quarterbacks (minimum 50 games) from cold-weather cities and how they fared in December and January since 1990:
Record and win %
— Tom Brady, 80-23, .776
— Aaron Rodgers, 52-21, .712
— Ben Roethlisberger, 54-23, .701
— Brett Favre, 57-26, .686
— Joe Flacco, 30-21, .588
— Eli Manning, 35-39, .472
Most passing yards
— Tom Brady, 25,681
— Ben Roethlisberger 19,496
— Brett Favre 19,217
— Aaron Rodgers 18,024
— Eli Manning, 17,066
— Joe Flacco, 11,286
Most touchdowns
— Tom Brady, 181
— Aaron Rodgers, 139
— Brett Favre, 128
— Ben Roethlisberger, 120
— Eli Manning, 108
— Joe Flacco, 77
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