Aaron Rodgers rooting for 49ers as Green Bay Packers situation becomes desperate - The Mirror

The Green Bay Packers are still in with a shot of making the playoffs after a dreadful 2022 NFL season but will need some help from their usual rival San Francisco 49ers to do so

Aaron Rodgers has admitted that he'll be cheering for the team that he usually despises the most on Thursday night, when San Francisco 49ers face the Seattle Seahawks in an important game for both NFC West rivals.

The Seahawks have been free-falling in recent weeks, losing three of their last four games whilst having one of the worst defences in the league in that time.

And although they have dominated the Niners in recent years, Seattle will be heavy underdogs going into the Thursday night game, as their opponents will look to capture the division title with a win.

Not only would a win be huge for themselves though, but it would keep the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers in with a chance of making the playoffs.

The Packers are two games behind the Seahawks, Giants and Commanders, and will likely need to win out if they are to make the post-season.

Speaking on The Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers said: "We're gonna be tuning in Thursday and rooting for one team we don't usually root for," with a Seahawk win ending their chances of play-off football.

The Niners have been the bane of Rodgers' career ever since he was drafted in 2005.

Going into that draft, Rodgers was projected to be the first overall pick by the Niners, whom he had supported as a boy and grew up just a matter of hours from the stadium.

However, they infamously passed on Rodgers and selected Alex Smith, becoming quickly apparent that they had a made a mistake with Rodgers becoming one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time, whilst Smith performed at a league average level, before they moved on to Colin Kaepernick.

After winning the last two MVP awards, this year has been desperately disappointing for Rodgers, with his Packers having a 5-8 record and largely struggling on both sides of the ball.

The Packers decided not to pay Rodgers' star receiver Davante Adams, and traded him away to the Las Vegas Raiders - where he leads the league in receiving touchdowns with 12 whilst being third in receiving yards.

In recent weeks, rookie Christian Watson has stepped up in his place, leading rookies with seven touchdowns, but it all feels a little too late with the Packers three games behind .500, and now in need of the Niners defeating the Seahawks on Thursday to have any chance.