‘You Play To Win The Game’: Aaron Rodgers Loves Raiders Going For The Win, Mocks Joe Judge For Third-And-9 Quarterback Sneak

Leading up to the first week 18 in the history of the NFL, much of the buzz surrounded the matchup between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football (SNF). 

It was a “win and you’re in” game for both teams, with the final AFC playoff spot on the line. But there was also an interesting twist that made the game even more intriguing than it already was. 

If the game ended in a tie, both the Chargers and the Raiders would make the playoffs, which as the day progressed on Sunday, would have knocked the Pittsburgh Steelers out of the postseason and put an end to Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s spectacular 18-year career. 

Late in the fourth quarter on SNF, the possibility of a tie appeared to be minuscule, with the Raiders leading the Chargers 29-14. But quarterback Justin Herbert led a furious comeback, throwing a touchdown pass as time expired in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime. 

After both teams traded field goals in overtime, Las Vegas drove down the Chargers 39-yard line. With 38 seconds left in overtime and the clock running down, Chargers head coach Brandon Staley took a timeout to get his defense a blow as they attempted to stop the Raiders on third down. 

Las Vegas running back Josh Jacobs picked up 10 yards on third down, setting a 47-yard field goal attempt for Daniel Carlson. Raiders interim head coach Rich Bisaccia called a timeout with two seconds left in the game, allowing Carlson to send the Raiders to the playoffs and sending their division rivals packing for the offseason. 

In his postgame interview, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr told Michelle Tafoya of NBC that the Chargers timeout with 38 seconds did “shift the strategy,” but the mindset was to be the “only team moving.”

“It definitely did, obviously,” Carr said. “But we knew, no matter what, we didn’t want a tie. We wanted to win the football game. Obviously, if you tie you’re in, and all those things. But my mindset all day — I was even texting with Aaron Rodgers this morning — my mindset was to make sure we were the only team moving on after this.”

For fans of sport everywhere, it was a refreshing answer. And the soon-to-be NFL MVP was happy to see that the Raiders went for the win. 

“This idea that they wouldn’t have kicked it because of the fear of getting it blocked,” Rodgers said on his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “You play to win the game. Nobody wants to be a part of that. … Nobody wants to be a part of kneeling the s*** out to take a tie. I would lose my mind.”

Rodgers then took a shot at now-former New York Giants coach Joe Judge for essentially throwing in the towel late in the second quarter of New York’s final regular season game against the Washington Football Team. 

“You know what would make me lose my mind almost as much as that?” Rodgers said. “Third-and-9 on the -5, let’s go in goal-line personnel and run a QB sneak.”

“Call that one in Matt [LaFleur], and let’s see what happens,” Rodgers continued.

“You play to win the game.. nobody wants to be part of kneeling the shit out to take a tie. You know what would make me lose my mind almost as much as that.. goal line personnel & a QB sneak on 3rd & 9 on the -5” 😂😂 ~@AaronRodgers12#PatMcAfeeShowLIVE pic.twitter.com/dGsHzySZ2X

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 11, 2022

The Giants ran back-to-back quarterback sneaks inside their own 5-yard line before punting the ball away. 

“Ultimately, look, we’re backed up. I wanted to get room. We’re going to push forward,” Judge explained after the game. “I wasn’t going to live through what happened last week in Chicago. We were going to give ourselves room for the punt. We did that. We gave ourselves room for the punt, we protected it, we covered it well. We played the field position situation how I wanted to play. We held them on the next drive.”

The bizarre decision was widely mocked on Twitter, and very well could have been the final nail in the coffin for Judge’s time in New York.

Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].

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