Aaron Rodgers throws a touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson during the Packers’ victory over the Carolina Panthers. Credit: Rick Wood

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Green Bay — Alex Van Pelt is a tough man to please.

Aaron Rodgers is living proof.

Van Pelt, Green Bay's quarterbacks coach, was informed recently that his star student was making a run at the NFL's lowest interception percentage ever.

"That's where it should be," Van Pelt said.

Van Pelt was told Rodgers' 18-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio could have him chasing history in that department.

"Good," the coach said.

Lastly, Van Pelt was told many of Rodgers' recent exploits could border on historic.

"Well, he's a historic quarterback," Van Pelt said.

There it is. The coach that didn't want to throw too many flowers finally tossed a large bouquet.

That's what Rodgers will do to even the harshest critic.

Rodgers has been so good for so long now that he's almost taken for granted in many circles. But Rodgers is in the midst of one of the greatest stretches of his career, putting up Madden-like video game numbers on a weekly basis.

The latest example came Sunday, when he powered Green Bay to a 38-17 rout of Carolina. Rodgers posted a 154.5 passer rating, the second-best mark of his career and the third-best in franchise history.

Rodgers joined New England's Tom Brady (2007) as just the second quarterback to ever throw for three touchdowns and zero interceptions in four straight games. And Rodgers posted his sixth straight game without throwing an interception, tying Bart Starr's franchise record set in 1964.

Afterward, those closest to Rodgers stopped for a second to acknowledge the greatness that they're currently witnessing.

"I'm his biggest fan," Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk said. "I've said it a million times, he's the best player on the planet. It's ridiculous what he does with the ball, right?

"That's my problem. I compare every quarterback at any level to him. I've got a skewed vision of quarterbacks because Aaron's so good. I'm not surprised, but it's just like, 'Wow!' with some of the stuff he does. It's ridiculous what he does, every game, too."

Packers wideout Randall Cobb, who leads NFL wide receivers with eight touchdowns this season, agreed with Hawk.

"That's what I expect from him," Cobb said. "I've stated many times that I think he's the best player in this league.... so I expect that from him."

Annual expectations are remarkably high for Rodgers, who won the NFL's MVP in 2011 and led the Packers to a Super Bowl title in 2010. But he is playing arguably the best football of his career right now.

Rodgers completed 19 of 22 passes for a career-high completion percentage of 86.4 on Sunday. And late in the third quarter, he had a perfect passer rating (158.3) before throwing incomplete to tight end Richard Rodgers.

After the game, Aaron Rodgers the perfectionist could recount each of his three incompletions. The Panthers were probably remembering the precision throws and touchdowns passes he hammered them with.

"He's got a special thing going right now," said Packers backup quarterback Scott Tolzien, who's with Rodgers every day. "I think people take it for granted, because he makes it look so easy. But they shouldn't. This is a hard game, and it's his work ethic, his preparation, and his will to get better every week that make him great."

Perhaps the most amazing part of Rodgers' recent run is his interceptions — or lack thereof.

Rodgers was intercepted by Seattle's Byron Maxwell on his first throw of the second half in Green Bay's Week 1 loss at Seattle. Since then, nothing, zero, zilch.

Rodgers has gone 192 passes without an interception, which is second in team history behind Starr's string of 294 set in 1964-'65. And the way Rodgers is going, the NFL record of 358 passes without an interception set by Brady in 2010-'11 might be doable.

"It's just being smart with the football," Rodgers said. "I've thrown a couple on offsides or 12 men on the field, so I think I'm getting them out of the way on those situations and then taking better care of it on the ones that actually count.

"There's going to be interceptions from time to time; it's just limiting the number of 50-50 balls that either they get their hands on or get tipped or are poor throws. If they're not touching the ball that much or at all in a game, that means you're being as accurate as you want to be."

Rodgers also is in position to set the NFL's lowest interception percentage in a season.

Currently, he has thrown just one interception in 211 passes, a clip of 0.47%. Kansas City's Damon Huard set the lowest mark in 2006 (0.41%), and Chicago's Josh McCown ranks second (0.44% in 2013).

Interestingly, Huard and McCown only played half of a season, because of injuries. Both players also barely met the minimum requirement of 224 passes (14 per game).

Van Pelt said the Packers talk about ball security and not turning it over throughout the off-season, especially during their quarterback school. But those topics are rarely brought up once the regular season arrives.

"Day to day, week to week, we don't talk about it," Van Pelt said. "Off-season quarterback school is where that's discussed.

"You don't want to jinx the guy. He knows how to take care of the football."

That's not all he knows.

After another sensational Sunday, Rodgers pushed his quarterback rating to 117.3, which would be the second-best of his career. He's completing 66.8% of his throws, which is his third-highest mark since becoming a starter in 2008. And he is now on pace for 41 touchdowns, which would be the second-highest total of his career.

"I'll say this about Aaron," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Sunday. "Aaron Rodgers is a much better player than he was in 2011.

"His responsibility level has increased a lot. What he does during the week, at the line of scrimmage. He's clearly a better player."

That's lofty praise, considering Rodgers won the MVP in 2011. But the way Rodgers and the Packers are trending, he's on a list of MVP favorites that includes Denver's Peyton Manning, Indianapolis' Andrew Luck and Dallas' DeMarco Murray.

Rodgers was asked Sunday if thoughts of another MVP have popped into his head.

"It doesn't," he said. "I wouldn't mind it, but it doesn't. I'll take a Super Bowl championship first."

The way 2014 is headed, both seem possible.

This story appeared in Packer Plus Magazine