Injured New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers took a shot at Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce, following his team’s loss to Kansas City on Sunday night.
During Rodgers’ appearance on the “Pat McAfee Show,” he called Kelce “Mr. Pfizer,” while acknowledging the Jets’ defense for keeping the game close against last year’s Super Bowl champions, despite ultimately losing in a close 23-20.
“I think there’s some sentiment that there’s some sort of moral victory there,” Rodgers said about the “Sunday Night Football” game. “That we hung with the champs.”
“And that our defense played well and Pat [Mahomes] didn’t have a crazy game,” he noted.
"Our defense played really well and Mr. Pfizer didn't have a crazy impact on the game" 😂@AaronRodgers12 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/AGzbcRFjdi
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 3, 2023
“And Mr. Pfizer, we kind of shut him down a little bit. He didn’t have any crazy impact on the game, other than some yards and stuff.”
Although the comments elicited laughter from the show’s host, Rodgers maintained his composure and praised the team’s defensive effort, particularly in the last three quarters.
The clip of the interview quickly gained popularity, amassing over 7 million views and becoming a trending topic on social media.
This playful jab from Rodgers stems from the Chiefs player’s recent advertisement for Pfizer, where he encouraged people to not only get their COVID-19 vaccine but also receive their flu shot concurrently.
In the ad, Kelce emphasized the importance of saving time by getting both shots in one visit.
“With my schedule, saving time is key,” Kelce captioned the paid post.
Travis Kelce sold his soul to Pfizer to push the clot shots, what a 🤡 pic.twitter.com/c7gUEMjqbM
— Hodgetwins (@hodgetwins) September 23, 2023
“The CDC says you can get this season’s updated COVID-19 shot when you get your flu shot if you’re due for both. That’s why I got two shots in one stop!”
In the commercial, Kelsey does “two things at once” including mowing the lawn while grilling, giving an interview and bench pressing a reporter, and flying in a hot air balloon as he hosted his podcast.
Rodgers notably caused an NFL scandal in 2021, when he told the media he was “immunized,” despite never getting vaccinated.
In January, he told McAfee that he was “cast as the villain” by the media for his beliefs about vaccination.
“There’s heroes and villains in sports and entertainment, and I think, because of my stance on COVID and maybe some other things, I’ve been cast as the villain,” Rodgers remarked. “Especially the last few years.”
“And so, that is the way that a lot of things I say are often interpreted,” he noted.
Rodgers said that the “woke” have an inclination to be outraged by anything, but it’s no skin off his back.
“This woke culture wants to be offended by everything,” the former Green Bay Packer stated.
“You just go online and find something you don’t agree with. ‘I’m offended! How could you possibly say that?’ I don’t really care. I don’t care who it’s coming from or who said it.”
He also pointed out that the liberal media was funded by Big Pharma’s ad dollars, so now he’s in their “crosshairs.”
“And it’s a station that may or may not have in the past been brought to you by Pfizer,” Rodgers explained.
“Then they gotta make sure that their villain gets cast in the correct light. And whether or not they’re sponsored by Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson, whatever it might be.”
“When you go up against some of those powers that be, put yourself in the crosshairs, they’re going to paint you in a certain way.”
Rodgers said that what the media did to him after he tested positive for COVID in October 2021 – after claiming he took a diluted strain of the virus for two months orally before getting – was their right.
“And that’s what the media did to me a couple years ago. That’s fine; that’s their prerogative,” he concluded.
“But I think I responded pretty good in those times, and I’m glad I went through that. Anything that comes after that, it’s small potatoes, bro.”