"Don't have the same number of years ahead of me" - When Aaron Rodgers embraced his NFL mortality after NFCCG loss to 49ers

Aaron Rodgers was, for a long time, thought to spend his entire career as a Green Bay Packer. He had been the team's leader during their Super Bowl XLV victory, as well as countless postseason games after that - some close, others not so.

One game in particular stands out: the 2019-20 NFC Championship Game loss at the San Francisco 49ers. After their first consecutive losing seasons since the end of the "NFL Siberia" era and first consecutive playoff absence since 2005-06, the Packers had regained their elite form and got their revenge on the Seattle Seahawks at the 2014 NFCCG.

What was expected to be a war between the NFC's top two teams instead became a rout, as the 49ers forced three straight punts and a fumble and intercepted Rodgers once. They scored on each ensuing drive - including three rushing touchdowns by Raheem Mostert - en route a 37-20 rout of the Packers.

After the game, the former Super Bowl MVP acknowledged:

"It definitely hurts a little more than earlier in the career just because you realize how difficult it is to get to this spot. I don't have the same number of years ahead of me as I do behind me."

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How Aaron Rodgers' Packers career unfolded after 2019 NFCCG rout

Many didn't know at the time, but the defeat would serve as motivation for Aaron Rodgers to have a late career turnaround.

In 2020, running largely the same cast, Aaron Rodgers won his first MVP award in six years, as he led the league in multiple statistical categories, with the Packers going 13-3 again - this time the outright best record. They convincingly beat the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round before facing off against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFCCG.

However, it ended in another heartbreaking defeat, this time 31-26 at their very home. Rodgers felt "gutted" as he said:

"This one definitely stings and is going to for a long time, especially the way it played out and the chances we had and the opportunities we had to seize that game at various points."

He would win another MVP in 2021 and lead the team to a 13-4 record and yet another NFC top seed, but they would lose much earlier in the playoffs - 13-10 at home to the 49ers in the Divisional Round.

The collapse finally came in 2022: a five-game slump in the middle of the season, followed by a crushing home loss to the resurgent Detroit Lions in the finale, which eliminated them from playoff contention.

Four months later, Aaron Rodgers was off to East Rutherford to join the New York Jets, while his old team would begin a new era under Jordan Love.