If you were watching NFL football in the early 2010s, you remember the feeling. The Green Bay Packers were at the height of their powers, and the Detroit Lions were—well, they were the Lions, but with a terrifying, mean streak. At the center of it all was a clash of styles so jarring it felt like a scripted movie. You had Aaron Rodgers, the "California cool" quarterback who could dismantle defenses with a flick of his wrist, and Ndamukong Suh, a 300-pound wrecking ball who played like he genuinely wanted to delete people from the roster.
It wasn't just a rivalry. It was a decade-long psychological war.
What Really Happened in the Frozen Tundra?
People usually point to the "Stomp" as the moment this beef peaked. It was December 28, 2014. Lambeau Field was basically a giant ice cube. Rodgers was already hobbled with a calf injury that had the entire state of Wisconsin holding its breath. Then, the play happened. Rodgers got knocked down, and Suh—moving backward—stepped directly on Rodgers' injured leg.
Twice.
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The league was livid. They originally handed down a one-game suspension that would have kept Suh out of a playoff game against the Cowboys. But here’s the kicker: Suh appealed it and won. His defense? His feet were literally too numb from the cold to feel where he was stepping. He called it "cold feet." Honestly, it sounds like a bad rom-com title, but it worked. The suspension turned into a $70,000 fine, the largest on-field conduct fine in NFL history at the time.
Beyond the Stomp: A Pattern of Chaos
To understand why this mattered so much, you have to look at the timeline. This wasn't a one-off incident. It was part of a larger narrative where Suh was the NFL's ultimate villain and Rodgers was his favorite target.
- 2010: A rookie Suh gets flagged for a roughing the passer hit on Rodgers. No fine, but the tone was set.
- 2012: Suh shoves Rodgers after an incomplete pass. Again, a 15-yard penalty but no fine. Suh tells the press it must be "nice to be a quarterback" and get all the calls.
- 2014: The infamous calf-stepping incident.
- 2020-2022: Even after Suh left Detroit, the hunt continued. Whether he was with the Bucs or the Eagles, seeing #93 across from #12 meant someone was getting hit late.
Suh has been open about how much he enjoyed "pissing off" Rodgers. In recent interviews, like his appearance on Bussin' With The Boys, he doubled down on the 2014 incident. He claims he couldn't see Rodgers because he was "tussling with two or three offensive linemen." He basically said if you've ever stepped on a kid's toy in the living room, you know you don't always look back immediately.
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Rodgers, predictably, never bought the "accident" story. He once noted that usually, when you step on someone, your first reaction is to apologize or pull back. Suh just stood there.
The Mutual Respect (Wait, Really?)
Here is the part that catches people off guard. After years of bad blood, the tone shifted. By the time 2022 rolled around, Suh was blowing kisses to Rodgers on the field.
"He smiled at me when I first got into the game and I blew him a kiss," Suh told PEOPLE.
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It’s that weird gladiator respect. You spend ten years trying to break a guy's ribs, and eventually, you realize he’s the only one who can handle the heat you’re bringing. Suh has even gone on record recently wishing Rodgers luck with the Pittsburgh Steelers in what looks like his final run. He called him "elite" and admitted there is a mutual understanding between two guys who have been at the top of the food chain for a long time.
Why We Still Talk About Them
The Rodgers-Suh saga represents an era of the NFL that is slowly fading. It was the era of the "enforcer" versus the "superstar." Today’s rules are so protective of quarterbacks that a "Suh-style" career would probably result in a lifetime ban by Week 4.
But for those five years in the NFC North, it was appointment television. You weren't just watching a football game; you were waiting to see if the best player in the league would survive the meanest player in the league.
Actionable Takeaways for Football Fans:
- Watch the Footwork: If you ever re-watch the 2014 Week 17 game, don't just look at the stomp. Watch how the Packers' offensive line (specifically T.J. Lang) reacted. It tells you everything about the internal temperature of that rivalry.
- Context Matters: Remember that Suh’s reputation as a "dirty" player was solidified by a previous stomp on Thanksgiving against Evan Dietrich-Smith. Without that history, the Rodgers incident might have actually been seen as an accident.
- The Legacy: When voting for the Hall of Fame comes up for these two, their head-to-head battles will be a major part of the highlight reel. One represents the peak of offensive efficiency; the other represents the peak of defensive intimidation.
The beef might have cooled down in the retirement years, but the history of Rodgers and Suh remains the gold standard for how a personal rivalry can define an entire division for a decade.
Next Steps:
If you want to see how this rivalry looks in the stat sheets, I can pull the career head-to-head sack numbers and win-loss records for every game Ndamukong Suh played against Aaron Rodgers.