The Cowboys and Packers gave football fans the entertaining game that, up until Sunday, had been sorely lacking from the NFL playoffs. Well, get ready because it’s only going to get better from here.
With that thrilling win over Dallas, the Packers are off to Atlanta to face the NFL’s most prolific offense in the Falcons. It’ll be Aaron Rodgers vs. Matt Ryan for a trip to the Super Bowl, and this matchup has all the makings of a classic.
5. It will be the last game at the Georgia Dome
Thanks to the Cowboys’ loss, the Falcons have one final game at the Georgia Dome before moving into the shiny new Mercedes-Benz Stadium across the street. While the Georgia Dome isn’t exactly an iconic stadium, it’ll be a milestone event for the Falcons franchise. The Divisional Round matchup against Seattle was home to an atmosphere that very few would expect from the Atlanta fanbase. They arrived early, they were loud, Future was on the sidelines, the team won. There was very little sense of the all-too-common Atlanta Sports collapse, and for that, the entire city of Atlanta will be buzzing for Sunday.
4. The Packers are finally healthy
These teams have already played, but Sunday will be a very different game for both of them. In that October matchup, Atlanta rallied to beat Green Bay, 33-32. Atlanta, not known for its defense, was able to put pressure on Rodgers in that game. The Falcons sacked him three times, but two of those sacks came from Adrian Clayborn who is out for the remainder of the playoffs. In that first meeting, Green Bay was without Clay Matthews, Ty Montgomery, Jared Cook, Damarious Randall and Randall Cobb — to name a few. That shouldn’t be the case on Sunday.
3. Expect so much scoring
Dan Quinn is a defensive-minded coach, and the Falcons have shown demonstrative improvement on defense, especially in the last six weeks of the season. But still, nobody is going to be afraid of the Falcons defense. Atlanta ranks 27th in points allowed per game and 25th in yards. The loss of Clayborn hurts and puts more attention on breakout star Vic Beasley. And that’s just Atlanta — the Packers aren’t much better. While injuries made a difference, Green Bay has the NFL’s 31st ranked pass defense. Atlanta has been so good this season at spreading the ball on offense that it’s really a recipe for disaster for a poor secondary. Julio Jones is a star, but Mohamed Sanu, Taylor Gabriel, Devonta Freeman, Tevin Coleman and Austin Hooper have all made major contributions. Neither defense will make many stops.
EPA/ERIK S. LESSER
2. Matt Ryan has never been better
Matt Ryan should be the NFL’s MVP. After what was probably the worst year of his career, Ryan has been spectacular for the Falcons in Kyle Shanahan’s offense. He has posted career highs in touchdowns (38), yards (4,944), completion percentage (69.9) and QB rating (117.1). Ryan’s 2015 season was plagued with costly turnovers. He’s shut that down this year, only throwing 7 interceptions. The Falcons offense is a juggernaut, and at this point, Ryan might be unstoppable.
1. Neither has Aaron Rodgers
Ryan has never been better, but perhaps, no player has been better than Aaron Rodgers right now. If you watched the Packers-Cowboys game, it’s clear that Rodgers playing at a level that can carry Green Bay to the Super Bowl.
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