“We believed in one another. We know it’s us against the world at this point. People have been counting us out and saying, just because of the record this year, we’re not a great team. But we know the type of people we have, and we know the character we have in this locker room. We just rallied around that.”

Rodgers playing despite being eliminated from playoff contention — as Adams put it, “He doesn’t have to be out there; he can easily be chilling at this point” — also sent a message.

“That it matters. That even when the record isn’t great and you’re not going to the playoffs, that it still matters,” said Rodgers, who completed 37 of 55 passes for a season-high 442 yards and two touchdowns (103.8 rating) while also running five times for 32 yards and two other TDs. “I have a lot of pride. I love competing — in anything. I don’t want to look back in 20 years and wonder, ‘What if I played that game? Could something special have happened?’

“What would it look like to my teammates if they knew I kind of quit on them? I hope my teammates know I’m never going to quit on them. I’m going to battle through anything I’ve got. They did the same.”