Aaron Rodgers praises Bill Belichick following Packers’ win over Patriots: ‘He’s a legend’

After calling Bill Belichick “the best coach of all time” earlier this week, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers offered more praise for the Patriots head coach following Green Bay’s 27-24 overtime victory on Sunday.

Wearing a Belichick-esque short-sleeved hoodie, Rodgers told the media after the game that he has a “lot of respect for Bill.”

“He’s a legend, deserves all the credit he gets,” Rodgers continued.

The Packers signal-caller shared that Belichick spent some time with him on the field prior to kickoff on Sunday afternoon.

“Before the game [Belichick] came over and we shared some words,” Rodgers said. “We had a nice embrace and shared some words back and forth.”

He elaborated on what was said during the conversation, telling reporters that he meant the praise he gave to Belichick at the beginning of the week and shared some of that with the New England head coach.

“The way that [Belichick] coaches, the success he’s had — he’s a phenomenal leader and always has his guys ready to play. Those were some of the sentiments I’m sure I echoed, and I’ll leave the rest to the stray microphones that probably caught some of it,” Rodgers said regarding the pregame conversation.

When asked if it meant something extra to beat the legendary coach given that it could be their last meeting, Rodgers acknowledged it was “nice” to get a win over Belichick.

“It likely is the last [game against Belichick], so lot of respect for Bill. Nice to beat him, that brings us to 2-1,” Rodgers said, referencing his record as a starter against Belichick.

The Rodgers-led Packers beat New England 26-21 in 2014, while the Patriots got the best of Green Bay in a 31-17 victory in 2018.

Rodgers also complimented Patriots rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe, who made his debut in relief of an injured Brian Hoyer in the first half of Sunday’s game, saying that Zappe “made some nice plays.”

“I thought [Zappe] threw the ball nice,” Rodgers went on. “Didn’t seem like he missed any he should have hit.”