Do marquee matchups at the Georgia Dome ever get old? They certainly don’t this season.
In Week 9, the Falcons hosted the Tampa Bay Bucs when both teams were 5-2 and tied atop the NFC South. Four days later, Atlanta welcomed the Baltimore Ravens with the NFL’s best record at stake for two 6-2 squads.
As the season continues to progress, some things never change. Atlanta will once again host arguably the class of this Sunday’s NFL schedule when the 7-3 Green Bay Packers come to town for a date with the NFC-leading 8-2 Falcons.
While Atlanta can claim the conference’s best record, Green Bay is arguably the hottest team in all of football. The Packers have won four straight and have outscored their last two opponents (Dallas and Minnesota) by a combined 76-10. They also boast impressive wins at Philadelphia and at the New York Jets. All three of their losses were decided by three points; at Chicago, at Washington (in overtime), and home against Miami (also in overtime).
“It’s two of the best teams in the NFL going against each other,” Falcons’ tight end Tony Gonzalez noted in an interview with the team’s website on Wednesday. “It’s going to be exciting. It’s going to be high tension; bodies flying around. It’s going to be a great football game.”
“It should be a good game,” Falcons’ head coach Mike Smith said during his Monday press conference. “The Packers are on a roll. They’re playing good football and it ought to be an exciting afternoon.”
Green Bay is a source of excitement on both sides of the ball. Defensively, the Packers rank fourth in the NFL with 32 sacks and they are tied for second (with Atlanta) with 15 interceptions. Linebacker Clay Matthews leads the entire league with 11.5 sacks.
Aaron Rodgers has been stellar at quarterback and he is coming off his two best performances of the year. His combined numbers against Dallas and Minnesota: 49 for 65, 590 yards, seven touchdowns, no interceptions.
The Falcons may try to use the same recipe that led them to a 34-17 victory at St. Louis last weekend; run the ball, stop the run, and keep the opponent’s offense off the field. Green Bay is just 19th in the NFL gaining 100.5 yards on the ground per game and the team is 18th in the league with 112.1 rushing yards allowed per game.
Injuries: The Packers have a smorgasbord of players on injured reserve. As for their active roster, safeties Atari Bigby (hamstring) and Anthony Smith (ankle) are doubtful. The Falcons welcomed back LB Sean Weatherspoon last week, but DE John Abraham missed the Rams game. Abraham is questionable for this Sunday with a groin problem.
Recent meetings: The Falcons and Packers have faced each other five times since the turn of the century (five times since 1994, in fact). Only one of those came with rosters similar to what will be fielded on Sunday. Atlanta went into Lambeau Field on Oct. 5, 2008 and prevailed 27-24. Michael Turner ran for 121 yards and a score while Roddy White hauled in eight passes for 132 yards and one touchdown. Rodgers threw for 313 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
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