GREEN BAY – It's almost unfair.
Are you able to look at their sideline and know what's coming, Aaron Rodgers was asked?
"Yes, I am," Rodgers answered with a wry smile. "That's something we've talked about; making them sprint off the field."
The Packers quarterback twice converted third downs by catching the Chiefs with 12 men on the field and hurrying into a play. Rodgers made the Chiefs appear helpless to do much more than hope Rodgers would overthrow or underthrow his receivers.
It didn't happen often. Rodgers threw for 333 yards, five touchdowns and a 138.5 passer rating. He embarrassed the Chiefs by catching them in free-play offsides, capitalizing on one of those occasions by pitching a 27-yard touchdown pass to James Jones. Later in the game, Rodgers barked the Chiefs into another free-play offsides, and this time Rodgers pitched a 52-yard completion to Jones.
"He's playing great football. The free plays are unique. It's become a part of our offense. He always finds the big play," Coach Mike McCarthy said of his star quarterback. "His ability to process information is as good as I've been around. He's playing at a great level."
Rodgers completed passes to seven different receivers, but it was his complete command of the strategy game that was most impressive. The Packers whipped the Chiefs in the trenches and in the film room.
"We don't run a lot of deceptive plays, so that was nice," Rodgers said of a bunch-formation play the Packers ran in the first quarter that resulted in a 12-yard reverse-type run by Cobb. "We thought it was something we could use to set up some other stuff in the game."
All of this begged the question, are you playing the best football of your career?
"I need to. I need to bring it every week. It's three games in. I'd like to keep it going like this throughout the season," Rodgers said.
Asked how the Packers offense looks from his vantage point, Rodgers said:
"It looks like we're making some plays. We're capitalizing on free plays and capitalizing on some matchups. We're scratching the surface a little bit. Davante (Adams) being out has been tough. We're very thankful James (Jones) was available. Randall (Cobb) is off to a great start and we're bringing Ty (Montgomery) along."
What's the next level for the best quarterback in the game? Can there be another level?
