Aaron Rodgers and Pat McAfee Credit: The Pat McAfee Show
By Sean Keeley on

You’re never gonna believe this but Aaron Rodgers read something on the internet, presumed it was true, and then shared that information on The Pat McAfee Show where it was accepted as fact.

This time, at least, it wasn’t misinformation that could directly impact the health and well-being of people. It was just a fun fact about Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff.

Late Sunday, professional Madden gamer Civ posted a wild Goff statistic on X as the Lions’ signal-caller was in the midst of a five-interception performance against the Houston Texans.

“This is now Jared Goff’s 7TH career game with at least 4 interceptions,” Civ wrote. “His record in those games? 6-0.”

An interesting statistic indeed, especially as the Lions ended up defeating the Texans in spite of Goff’s miscues. After the game, Civ quoted his own post, saying “Jared Goff moves to 7-0 in games with at least 4 interceptions.”

Here’s the thing with this fun fact: It’s completely made up.

As the community note on the initial post reads, “Jared Goff has thrown 4+ interceptions in only two games of his NFL career. He is 1-1 in those games.”

By the time Monday rolled around, the initial post had gone viral and Civ had a good chuckle about it.

“10,000 Likes on a Tweet I made up is objectively hilarious,” he wrote.

In the age of Ballsack Sports and Elon Musk’s misinformation machine, it’s hardly a surprise to see a fake stat go viral under the presumption of accuracy. It also wasn’t surprising to see that stat end up on ESPN’s airwaves either.

Rodgers made his usual Tuesday appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. During a discussion about the weekend’s NFL action, he brought up the fake Goff statistic. Turns out, the McAfee Show crew were well aware of it.

“The amazing stat, though, is this a true stat, that he’s done four or more picks seven times and won every single one of those games?” Rodgers asked.

“Yes,” responded McAfee.

“Yep, 7 and 0,” added Boston Connor.

“That’s wild,” said Rodgers.

After Civ shared that video on his X account, McAfee responded simply, “Oh no.”

Civ, meanwhile, couldn’t help but keep the bit going.

“Pat, I’m sorry. You & the Progrum were never meant to get caught up in this,” he wrote. “With that being said, please consider turning on my notifications because I have some new stats and potential breaking stories dropping Sunday.”

On its own, it’s just a dumb, silly thing. Whatever.

However, within the context of Rodgers’ longstanding tradition of coming on The Pat McAfee Show and spreading conspiracy theories and misinformation under the guide of presumed correctness, it makes for a harmless but still notable example of how the New York Jets quarterback might not be the intellectual keystone he thinks he is.

That the McAfee crew also took the bait on the fake fact lines up with several previous moments as well.

After having the fake statistic confirmed as true for him, Rodgers referenced the infamous “stats are for losers” slogan. Which, given the reality of the situation, makes for a good chuckle.

[MisterCiv]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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