New York Jets quarterback and longtime media critic Aaron Rodgers is apparently guilty of one of his biggest pet peeves: spreading misinformation.
Speaking with ESPN’s Pat McAfee on Tuesday, Rodgers, 40, talked about Lions quarterback and Cal teammate Jared Goff, who somehow led Detroit to a victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday despite of throwing five interceptions.
“The surprising statistic, though, is this a real statistic, that he has made four or more picks seven times and won each and every one of those games?” asked Rodgers, who often boasts of conducting his own research on a variety of topics.
Rodgers, McAfee and co-host Boston Connor then decided the statistic was true.
“Yes,” McAfee said.
Pat McAfee and Aaron Rodgers agreed that Jared Goff is 7-0 when throwing four picks.
“Yeah, 7 and 0,” Connor added.
Rodgers agreed: “That’s crazy.”
Turns out it’s so wild it’s completely fake.
Goff has only thrown four or more interceptions in a game twice, and including Sunday’s win, the Lions star is 1-1 in those games.
So how did Rodgers, McAfee and Boston Connor become so convinced that Goff is 7-0 when throwing four interceptions in a single game? Was it an inside job? A government psychological operation? Has the media woke up?
In reality, it was Kenneth Cox, a player who cultivated a social media following by teaching others how to play Madden, an NFL-inspired video game.
“If you’ve ever wondered how easy it is to spread false information,” Cox, who goes by “Civ” on social media, wrote on X. “I made this statistic while lying in bed at halftime of the game.”
Kenneth Cox, a player with a large social media following, admits he invented the statistic.
Lions QB Jared Goff threw five interceptions in Sunday’s win over the Houston Texans.
To his credit, McAfee acknowledged his mistake in response to Cox’s X post, writing, “Oh no.”
Rodgers, a COVID-19 vaccine skeptic who spent much of the pandemic boasting about “doing his own research,” took the brunt of the online criticism.
“But I’m sure Aaron did ‘his own research’ like he does with any other topic,” one online reviewer wrote.
“Don’t worry, Pat,” another added. “I’m sure Aaron did his own research on that.”
One fan pointed out the paradox of believing Rodgers: “This is what you get for trusting the ‘do your own research’ guy without doing your own research.”
Rodgers, who has repeatedly accused reporters of spreading misinformation, will return to action Sunday when the Jets (2-8) face the visiting Indianapolis Colts.