Philadelphia As usual, Aaron Rodgers didn't mince words.
"I played terrible," the Green Bay quarterback said. "I missed a lot of throws I make in my sleep. Personally, I made too many dumb mistakes and didn't play as well as I'm capable of playing.
"It's got to get better. That's the good thing."
Yes, as Rodgers noted, if he and the offense were that far off their game and the Packers were still able to win, 27-20, as they did against the Philadelphia Eagles in the season opener Sunday, that cannot be all bad.
"It's nice when the offense isn't playing as well as it can and the special teams and defense steps up like it did," Rodgers said.
"It's nice to get a win here. This is a tough, hostile environment. I've been a part of two ugly losses here."
Though it was a complete reversal of what was expected from the Packers, Rodgers will take his uncharacteristic 19 of 31 and two interceptions and move on in the knowledge that he might not always need his A-game for the Packers to win this season. They did it against the Eagles with revived special teams and a defense that came up really big at the end.
One of the NFL's elite quarterbacks gave the Eagles credit for taking away one of his top go-to guys, tight end Jermichael Finley. Finley was not the factor he was expected to be in catching four of the six passes Rodgers threw his way for 47 yards.
The Packers made their offensive intentions known immediately. Their first three plays of the game, excluding a penalty against the Eagles, were all incomplete passes. Rodgers was unable to find his groove early and was intercepted on just his second drive of the season.
Throwing into triple coverage with 8:23 left in the first quarter, Rodgers was intercepted off a deflection.
But there was value in that play.
On the sideline, Rodgers told wide receiver Greg Jennings to break off a "go" route if the Eagles showed the coverage again.
They did, and with less than two minutes left in the third quarter, Rodgers found Jennings on a 32-yard strike that gave the Packers a 27-10 lead. It was one of two touchdowns for Rodgers, the other being a 6-yarder to Donald Driver late in the half.
But after the Jennings score, Rodgers said the Green Bay offense, expected to be one of the most dangerous units in the league, went into "end-of-the-game" mode as the Eagles rallied with backup quarterback Michael Vick.
Rodgers didn't help when he threw his second interception in the fourth quarter after the ball slipped out of his hand.
The other concern was the three sacks the Eagles got early in the game. It was a bad flashback from the first half of last season, when Rodgers took a beating.
Is he concerned about a repeat?
"I'm not worried," Rodgers said. "The only thing that worries you is the four-man rush. They sacked us three times in their base defense. That's disappointing."
Rodgers is friends with Philadelphia starting quarterback Kevin Kolb, who went out of the game in the second quarter with a concussion. Rodgers said he planned to speak to Kolb later Sunday night.
"I hope he's OK," Rodgers said. "You never want to see that happen. The quarterback fraternity is pretty tight."