Aaron Rodgers was sore. It wasn't just his left knee that hurt.His mobility limited while wearing a brace on his injured knee Riley Reiff Jersey , the star quarterback for the Green Bay Packers said he got punched in the eye during a sack. He absorbed a couple other shots, too.Once the game started Sunday, the adrenaline kicked in. The ending was kind of a downer for the two-time NFL MVP.Rodgers was 30 of 42 for 281 yards and a touchdown, but the Packers played to a 29-29 draw with the Minnesota Vikings after giving up a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter."Close to an 'L.' It doesn't feel great," Rodgers said about the tie.A week after Rodgers threw three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to rally the Packers to a victory over Chicago, the Vikings nearly pulled off the same feat at Lambeau Field.Rodgers got hurt in the second quarter against the Bears before returning in the second half. Rodgers focused on rehabbing his knee this week before going through the Packers' light practice on Saturday.He was listed as questionable for the Vikings game, though Minnesota fully expected him to play."But he's amazing, the things he can throw, the things he sees. I still think they should trade him," Vikings coach Mike Zimmer joked.Rodgers played well given his injury. He was sacked four times, though the protection held up relatively well especially early in the game.While he didn't have his typical mobility that allows him to buy time for receivers Xavier Rhodes Jersey , he was able to move around enough to scramble out of trouble on occasion. Operating out of shotgun or pistol formations also bought Rodgers more time.Rodgers said he felt well enough as the game wore on to be able to try some other things."I told (coach Mike McCarthy) in the fourth quarter I was feeling good," Rodgers said.The Packers (1-0-1), though, could have used more touchdowns from the offense. Mason Crosby matched a career high with five field goals but missed a 52-yarder as time expired in regulation.A mishandled handoff to running back Jamaal Williams with 5:17 left in overtime also cost the Packers a chance at another long field-goal attempt. Rodgers recovered the fumble on second-and-1 at the 37, and he was sacked on third down to push Green Bay back to the 47.It was the last time that the Packers would have the ball."I'm disappointed about my last two plays," Rodgers said.The quarterback isn't sure whether he might follow a similar practice plan ahead of next week's game against the Washington Redskins, though he said he expect to play each week. He's not sure if the injury could linger all season."He felt good and wanted to practice Saturday. He took pretty much all of the offensive reps. We pretty much evaluated him today when he came in," McCarthy said. "As you can see, he had a heck of a football game." With play-action pass after play-action pass, Jared Goff and the Los Angeles Rams just kept picking Minnesota's proud and proven defense apart.Opportunities for the Vikings to disrupt Goff's rhythm with a well-timed sack or a hurried incompletion were scant, as the high-octane Rams never let up in that 38-31 victory last week over the suddenly sputtering Vikings."They don't give you too many drop-back passes where you can rush the quarterback Womens Ben Gedeon Jersey ," coach Mike Zimmer said after that humbling performance when Goff went 26 for 33 for 465 yards and five touchdowns.The pressure is on the Vikings (1-2-1) to rebound from this rough first quarter of the season and climb back toward the top of the NFC where they've been expected to be. Speaking of pressure, well, the Vikings haven't been producing enough of it."Just get him off his spot, you know? Be effective," defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson said. "Put a lot of pressure in his face and around his legs."Goff was only sacked once and hit twice in 35 passing plays. With Todd Gurley's dangerous presence in the backfield, the Vikings simply weren't able to prioritize rushing Goff over stopping the ground game.With Rams coach Sean McVay cleverly calling a variety of rollout and misdirection plays, the Vikings simply weren't able to get to Goff in time. That's one reason why their linebackers, safeties and cornerbacks were out of sorts in coverage all night."We've just got to get in the classroom, fix our mistakes, see what we did wrong and just try to get better," said defensive end Danielle Hunter http://www.vikingsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-mike-remmers-jersey , who has four of the team's 11 sacks.The Vikings actually rank seventh in the NFL in sacks per pass attempt at 8.4 percent. As in their loss to Buffalo the week before, though, they didn't deliver that drive-ending or touchdown-saving takedown of the quarter against the Rams when they needed it most.Richardson pointed to the myriad ways the Rams were able to stay a step ahead with their scheme and, essentially, use the strengths of the Vikings against them."It might look like we're not pass rushing, but that's what we're doing. We're doing our job," Richardson said. "I think it can get better."The Vikings not only led the league last season in fewest points and yards allowed, but they denied opponents on third downs more often than any other team. So far this year, their foes have displayed a desire to call more aggressive plays on second down so as to avoid those difficult scenarios."It's harder to get sacks. Guys are scheming so you won't be able to get sacks. Quarterbacks are aware of that too," Richardson said, not even mentioning the increased emphasis on roughing-the-passer penalties. "In the schemes Cheap Anthony Barr Jersey , it's two-seconds-it's-gone."Still indefinitely missing defensive end Everson Griffen , while he gets treatment for mental health issues, the Vikings won't have much easier of a time this week at Philadelphia. The Eagles, of course, won the last meeting 38-7 in the NFC championship game last season with the same type of multi-faceted attack the Rams employed to keep the Vikings from digging in and unleashing their pass rush."The past makes you who you are," Richardson said, adding: "We have things we need to work on. Now we've got to get to it. We've got to change those. Otherwise we're going to get beat again."
