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In Week 6 of the 2017 NFL season, the Vikings hosted the Packers on Oct. 15 at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings were 3-2 after a perhaps season-saving win over the Bears in which they turned the QB spot over to Case Keenum. The Packers were 4-1.
The score was tied 0-0 midway through the first quarter when Packers QB Aaron Rodgers was flushed out to the right while being chased by Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr. Rodgers threw an incomplete pass — harmless enough looking, at least for a couple of seconds.
But that one play that happened five years ago Saturday, would change the course of the 2017 season, the path forward for the Vikings and Packers, and even the rules (and perceptions) of the entire league — as I talked about on Thursday's Daily Delivery podcast.
Barr landed on Rodgers after he threw the ball — deemed a clean play at the time, with no penalty called — knocking Rodgers out of the game and most of the rest of the season with a broken right collarbone. The Vikings went on to win 23-10 on the way to a 13-3 season and NFC title game appearance. The Packers finished 7-9 mostly behind backup Brett Hundley.
In terms of the Vikings, that season left them convinced that they were on the cusp of a championship — and perhaps a quarterback away from getting there. They landed Kirk Cousins in free agency that offseason with a three-year, fully guaranteed $84 million contract, in part because of Cousins' durability that would lead to QB stability.
Cousins, indeed, has only missed two starts in four-plus seasons — once when the Vikings had nothing to play for, once with COVID, but neither due to injury — while signing two contract extensions.
In the midst of a 4-1 start this year after missing the playoffs in three of his first four years, Cousins was asked Wednesday about key factors in helping protect quarterbacks from injuries.
"I know the big one is when they land on you," Cousins said. "When a 320 pound man lands on you and you're falling from several feet in the air and he's on you, it's going to be tough to stay healthy in those moments. So the fact that they're saying hey you have to roll off, I think that is one that will strategically prolong quarterback seasons and quarterback careers. ... That's the one that I think was a win for the quarterbacks."
And that rule was put in place before the 2018 season in large part because of the Barr hit on Rodgers in 2017. From that point forward, it became a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty for a defensive player to land with full weight on a QB after a hit.
From the Packers standpoint, the 7-9 season and 6-9-1 year that followed even with a healthy Rodgers likely hastened the transition to new decisionmakers. Brian Gutekunst was promoted to GM in 2018, and Matt LaFleur became head coach in 2019.
Since the start of the 2018 season, with the rule in place, Rodgers has missed just one game (and that was with COVID in 2021). He's 42-11 in the regular season as a starter since LaFleur took over as head coach, being kept upright in part because of that rule. (He's on the injury report after his thumb was dinged up on a hard hit last week, but Rodgers is expected to play Sunday).
From the perspective of the entire league, the Rodgers/Barr rule has at times — now, in particular — been part of a conversation about whether QBs are too protected.
Kansas City's Chris Jones was flagged for roughing the passer on Monday under the letter of the rule, sparking an outcry. "This is not football anymore," Tony Dungy grumbled.
But actually it is football. It's not the football of 20, 10 or, I suppose, even five years ago. The NFL has evolved in a clear way, whether for betterment of the product or health — perhaps both — to protect quarterbacks and to generally let offenses win all coin flips against defenses.
It indirectly led to Cousins coming to Minnesota, and it's helped him maintain durability as one of his greatest attributes. It's helped keep Rodgers on the field, sparking a revival for the Packers. It's helped a legend like Tom Brady keep playing at age 45.
The rule might have changed eventually anyway, but there's no denying the impact of what transpired when Barr landed on Rodgers.
