When Aaron Rodgers hit Randall Cobb for a 24-yard touchdown against the Falcons on Sunday, the pass had slightly more meaning than a normal touchdown pass and that's because it helped Rodgers set an NFL record.
The throw to Cobb was the 359th straight pass that Rodgers had made without throwing an interception, breaking Tom Brady's NFL record of 358 straight passes that had stood since 2011.
Going into Sunday's game, Rodgers had thrown 336 straight passes without a pick, meaning he only needed to throw 23 more to break Brady's record. However, the record almost didn't happen, and that's because Rodgers made one of his worst throws of the season in the second quarter.
On a first-and-10 play from his own 27-yard line, Rodgers threw a pass that landed directly in the arms of Falcons linebacker Deion Jones, as you can see below.
Fortunately for Rodgers, Jones somehow dropped the pass, keeping the quarterback's streak alive. If Jones had held on for the pick, Rodgers' streak would have ended at 352 straight passes without an interception, just six short of tying Brady's record.
Rodgers eventually broke the record with his touchdown pass to Cobb during the third quarter of Green Bay's 34-20 win over the Falcons. Rodgers finished the game 21 of 32 for 196 yards and two touchdowns, and more importantly, his record-setting streak is now at 368 passes. The Packers quarterback hasn't thrown an interception since a 22-0 Week 4 win over the Bills.
One thing that didn't surprise Rodgers was the close call with Jones. After the game, Rodgers said there were actually a few close calls on Sunday.
"That happens from time to time when you get a good streak of interception-free passes, there's going to be a couple [of near misses]," Rodgers said, via ESPN.com. "Obviously it was cold and a little bit damp, the guy drops it. [Jones] had a couple chances. One, Jimmy [Graham] kind of backed into the route a little bit on a sit over the ball. And the other one, I was thinking Jamaal [Williams] was going to kind of go up and back, and he kind of sat there. [Jones] wasn't looking and then right at the last second, thankfully, he took his eyes back but didn't get a great look at it the whole time. You need a little bit of good fortune when you have a streak like that."
The record that Rodgers broke had stood for seven years. Brady set the record with a streak with went from Week 5 in 2010 until the Patriots' regular season opener in 2011.
Although Rodgers now has the record, his lack of interceptions hasn't really been helping the team. One reason Rodgers hasn't been throwing picks this year is because he's been throwing the ball away so often. Going into Week 14, Rodgers had thrown the ball away 53 times, which is an absurdly high number when you consider that no other team in the NFL has more than 30 throwaways this year.
With 23 touchdown passes this season and just one interception from Rodgers, you'd think the Packers would be better on offense, but they're not. Earlier this year, our Sean Wagner-McGough took a look at why the Packers offense has been struggling despite Rodgers' impressive numbers and you can read that by clicking here.
Rodgers and the Packers travel to Chicago on Sunday (1 p.m., Fox, stream on fuboTV, try for free) for an NFC North clash.
