Aaron Rodgers downplayed one of the worst games of his career after his coach called the effort embarrassing

• The Green Bay Packers lost to the New Orleans Saints 38-3 in their season opener.
• Head coach Matt LaFleur said the Packers were "absolutely embarrassed" and admonished their effort.
• Aaron Rodgers seemed to take the loss a bit easier, saying it was "just one game."

Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers' 2021 campaign got off to a rough start with a 38-3 shellacking at the hands of the New Orleans Saints.

Head coach Matt LaFleur was disappointed in his team's effort after the game.

"They came ready to play; absolutely embarrassed us today," LaFleur told reporters. "Our guys are going to have to take a long, hard look in the mirror. That starts with myself. Obviously, I didn't get these guys ready to go play ball."

"It's very humbling, to say the least," LaFleur said. "We have to get back to work. This isn't going to magically repair itself."

On the field, Rodgers played one of the worst games of a career that has had few such performances. The reigning NFL MVP completed just 15 of his 28 pass attempts for 133 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions for a quarterback rating of 36.8, his second-worst mark since 2014.

But despite the disappointing stat line, Rodgers didn't sound quite as worried about the team's poor effort as his head coach.

"I'll let him use those words, and I'll use, 'it's just one game,'" Rodgers said when asked for his take on LaFleur's post-game statement. "We played bad. I played bad. Offensively we didn't execute very well. One game. We've got 16 to go."

It's far from the first time Rodgers has had to ask everyone to please remain calm after a disappointing loss, and to his credit, he's usually backed up his big words.

This time, Rodgers said he believed it would be easier for the team to bounce back because the loss came early in the year.

"We're coming off a couple NFC Championship Games and obviously feeling good about the unit that we have on offense. ... So this is a good kick in the you-know-where. Hopefully, get us going in the right direction going back home and playing a division opponent [Detroit] next week."

Rodgers joked in the offseason that his MVP year in 2020 ruined his plans of leaving the Packers, and tension through the offseason in Green Bay gave the impression that this year could be Rodgers' last with the team.

If this is Rodgers' final run with the Packers, LaFleur has to get on the same page as him before Week 2 kicks off.