WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. — Broncos safety P.J. Locke grew up in Beaumont, Texas, a long way from Green Bay, Wis. But there was a time when Aaron Rodgers was his guy.
Locke was a Packers fan for a period and even had a wallet with their logo on it. And on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, Locke will run into Rodgers, who played for the Packers from 2005-22 and is now in his second season with the New York Jets.
“I was a Packers fan when I was younger, so I saw (quarterback) Brett Favre and I saw Aaron Rodgers come in,’’ Locke said Friday at The Greenbrier resort, where the Broncos practiced during the week before flying in for the game at East Rutherford, N.J. “It’s just an awesome opportunity obviously to test your skills. You’re going against a Hall of Fame quarterback. If you don’t get fired up for that, you’re just not competitive.”
Locke is not alone in how he feels even if teammates didn’t grow up following the Packers. Denver defensive players are looking forward to going against Rodgers, most doing it for the first time.
The Broncos (1-2) haven’t faced Rodgers since a 27-16 Green Bay home win on Sept. 22, 2019. He joined the Jets last season and suffered a torn Achilles on the fourth play in the opener, so he missed their 31-21 win at Denver last October.
“Obviously, he’s one of the best quarterbacks that ever has played the game, so it’s going to be a good challenge,’’ said cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian. “I’m kind of excited just to get a chance to play against him. We’re accepting the challenge, but he’s Aaron Rodgers. He’s one of the greatest quarterbacks.”
Among Denver’s regular defensive starters, when Rodgers was with the Packers, nose tackle D.J. Jones faced him with San Francisco in the regular seasons of 2019, 2020 and 2021 and in a 2021 playoff game, defensive end John Franklin-Myers went against him with the Los Angeles Rams in 2018 and with the New York Jets in 2022, defensive end Zach Allen faced him with Arizona in 2021, and linebacker Cody Barton went against him in a 2019 playoff games when he was a Seattle rookie.
“He’s still a really good player," Barton said of Rodgers, who is 40 and was 36 when the Packers beat the Seahawks 28-23 in that postseason. “That’s going to be a good challenge for us. For doing it as long as he has, he obviously sees the game, manages the game very well.”
Barton will have an added responsibility this time against Rodgers. With linebacker Alex Singleton lost for the season with a torn ACL suffered in last Sunday’s 26-7 win over Tampa Bay, Barton will replace him in wearing the green dot on his helmet and calling out signals to the defense.
Rodgers, recovering from his injury, got off to an OK start in the first two games for the Jets (2-1). He really looked sharp in New York’s last game, completing 27 of 35 passes for 281 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in a 24-3 win over New England on Sept. 19.
For the season, Rodgers has completed 67.4% of his passes for 624 yards with five touchdowns and one interception. Wide receiver Garrett Wilson is his favorite target, with 15 catches for 150 yards and one touchdown.
“The quarterback is obviously special,’’ said Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. “He’s a Hall of Fame player. … Pressure doesn’t bother this guy. He’s going to see it. He’s seen every kind of pressure you can give him.
"Obviously, when you’re playing a guy like this, you have to be in his head a little bit as far as knowing what he sees and knowing what you’re showing him and taking it away. He has seen it all. It’s our job to obviously win our one-on-ones.”
When Joseph was the Broncos’ head coach in 2017 and 2018, they didn’t face Rodgers’ Packers. The last time Joseph went against the quarterback, he was Arizona’s defensive coordinator in 2021, and the Cardinals lost 24-21 to the Packers. But Rodgers didn’t have a big game, completing 22 of 37 passes for 184 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
When Broncos coach Sean Payton coached New Orleans for 15 seasons through 2021, he faced Rodgers as a starter with the Packers five times, with the Saints winning three. In the last meeting, Payton’s team shut him down.
In the 2021 opener, the Saints crushed Packers 38-3 in a game moved from New Orleans to Jacksonville, Fla., due to Hurricane Ida. Rodgers completed just 15 of 28 passes for 133 yards with two interceptions.
“I can’t even remember when that was,’’ Payton said Friday when asked if there was anything done in that game that can be used against Rodgers on Sunday. “It’s an entirely different team we’re playing.”
As for Locke, he remembers well the days he followed the Packers. And even though Rodgers is now with the Jets, he will be fired up Sunday.
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