If Aaron Rodgers retires now, he will leave the NFL with this unwanted finale stat

For a legendary quarterback awaiting the NFL’s Hall of Fame honor, this would be an oddly specific final footnote.

According to OptaStats, if Rodgers never throws another pass, he will retire as the first player in NFL history to end his career by throwing a playoff pick-six on his final attempt. Not just a bad throw. Not just an interception. A defensive touchdown, returned 50 yards, on what may be the last snap of a 21-year career.

That moment came late in Pittsburgh’s 30-6 Wild-Card loss to the Houston Texans, a game that went from tense to one-sided unexpectedly quickly. For three quarters, the score crawled along towards 7-6. Then Houston’s defense dominated and the contest was put to bed.

Rodgers, now 42 and playing on a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers, was sacked four times, held to 146 yards, and finished with a passer rating that looked more like a typo than a farewell. One troller commented during that period: “Damn, you’d think with Aaron Rodgers being anti-vaxx, it’d be easier to catch something from him.”

The Texans scored twice on defense in the fourth quarter, the final blow delivered when Calen Bullock jumped a forced throw and jogged into history.

If that’s the ending, it clashes with the numbers that define Rodgers’ career: the best passer rating ever, one of the lowest interception rates on record, four MVP awards, and a Super Bowl ring.

Rodgers insists he won’t decide emotionally. Fair enough. Still, if this was the last playing page, it’s one even he would rather skip, with a likely retired #12 jersey appearance at Lambeau a more fitting finale.

Houston, meanwhile, move on to face the New England Patriots, carrying a 10-game winning streak.

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