Aaron Rodgers believes the saying that you play like you practice is more than just an old football trope.
The 42-year-old quarterback feels that an uptick in practice intensity has played a part in the Pittsburgh Steelers winning their last two games, marking their first back-to-back wins in over two months. The Steelers downed the Miami Dolphins 28-15 on Monday night after beating the Baltimore Ravens the previous week in a showdown for first place in the AFC North.
"The best way to play well on game day is to find a way to make the game seem like practice," Rodgers said Wednesday during his weekly media availability. "And the only way to do that is to make practice as game-like as possible. That's why practice is so important to me. Every rep matters, even if it's a walk-through.
"You have to play the game out Monday to Saturday, so when you get to Sunday, or game day, it feels like practice. Because in practice, there aren't the nerves that show up on game day, so how can I make the game feel as much like practice? I have to make practice feel as much like the game as I possibly can."
The Steelers (8-6) will try to keep those good practice habits going this week as they prepare to visit the Detroit Lions (8-6) on Sunday at Ford Field. Like the Steelers, the Lions are 4-5 since opening the season with four wins in five games.
Rodgers has played well in the last two games. He has completed 46 of 61 passes for 508 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Rodgers’ 125.9 passer rating against the Dolphins was his second-best of the season.
Again, Rodgers thinks it comes down to the way he and his teammates are practicing.
"The execution has been better at practice the last couple weeks," Rodgers said. "Again, that doesn't translate to wins. We've had many over my years, many poor practice weeks, and excellent execution on game day. But I do believe it's easier to play well on Sunday or game day when you have your week of practice. So, we have trended in the right direction. There's a way that good teams practice late in the season. We're starting to resemble that."