When the Green Bay Packers suffered back-to-back road losses against Detroit and New England, their playoff chances appeared to have evaporated. Three weeks later, they find themselves on a three-game winning streak and in the second round of postseason play. Green Bay, a mediocre 8-6 when it fell to the Patriots on Dec. 19, defeated the New York Giants and Chicago Bears to sneak into the playoffs, and the Packers kept up their momentum by winning at Philadelphia in the wild card round.
Green Bay knows as well as any NFL team that having its starting quarterback—especially a healthy one—makes all the difference. Aaron Rodgers missed most of the Detroit game and all of the New England game due to a concussion. Since returning for a critical Week 16 tilt against the Giants, Rodgers has been absolutely on fire.
The former Cal standout has thrown eight touchdowns and just one interception in his last three outings. He torched New York for four touchdowns through the air and he tossed three more scores in the playoff win at Philadelphia without throwing an interception.
A big reason for the success of both Rodgers and the entire offense in wins over the Giants and Eagles was a rare commitment to running the football. When the Packers lost at the Georgia Dome on Nov. 28, they gained only 73 yards and Rogers was the team’s leading rusher.
They rushed 35 times for 119 yards against New York and four different ballcarriers picked up more than 20 yards. Even more encouragingly, last weekend’s playoff game featured the emergence of little-known rookie running back James Starks. The sixth-round pick out of Buffalo erupted for 123 yards on 23 carries. During the regular season he totaled just 29 rushes for 101 yards in three games.
“There’s a whole lot of stuff out there for us to evaluate as a coaching staff,” Falcons head coach Mike Smith said at his Tuesday press conference. “We’ve got to make sure that we have a plan for all the different looks that they’ve shown. They’re very multiple in what they do offensively, just like we are.”
While they are heating up on offense, the Packers are known for their prowess on the defensive side of the ball. They rank fifth in the NFL in total defense, giving up only 309.1 yards per game in the regular season. Green Bay is also fifth in the league against the pass, allowing just 194.2 yards per game.
Linebacker Clay Matthews has been a force. He finished second in the NFC and fourth in the NFL with 13.5 sacks. As a team, the Packers tied for second in the league with 47 sacks, one behind Pittsburgh. All signs point to Atlanta once again trying to establish the run, as the Falcons’ strength could work well against Green Bay’s relative defensive weakness (NFL’s 18th-best rushing defense).
Previous meeting: A Week 12 showdown at the Georgia Dome between 8-2 Atlanta and 7-3 Green Bay was billed as a potential NFC Championship preview. And it certainly lived up to expectations. Matt Bryant booted a 47-yard field goal with nine seconds left after the Packers had tied the game at 17-17 with a touchdown just 47 seconds earlier. The Falcons played turnover-free football and were able to overcome a strong performance by Rodgers, who passed for 344 yards and one touchdown.
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