The Green Bay Packers (10-5) are on the road against Arizona Cardinals (10-5) on Sunday.  This matchup may be the same in the first round of the playoffs, so both teams have some extra incentive to play well.  The Cardinals may be resting up some starters, but their coach Ken Whisenhunt has been keeping things pretty quiet so the Packers need to be prepared for anything.  The Cardinals have an offense that is capable of making a lot of big plays and can put up a ton of points.  The Packers defense has been strong most of the season, and they give up only 290 total yards per game.  They are better at stopping the run, giving up only 86 rushing yards per game and the Cardinals’ passing game is their strength so the Packers should be able to shut down the Cardinals’ running backs.  Still, with Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, and Anquan Boldin it will be a challenge for the Packers and hopefully those three don’t play a lot.

Most of the time the Cardinals need their offense to put up a lot of points for them to win, as their defense is not very strong.  They give up 347 total yards per game, so Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ offense should find success.  Rodgers has had a great season and made history this year by becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 4,000 yards in his first two seasons as a full-time starter.  If Warner and crew play a lot, Rodgers should be able to keep up (or at least keep it close) with the the Cardinals high-scoring offense.  He will need some help from Ryan Grant though, who has over 1,200 yards this season including 97 yards and 2 touchdowns last week.  If the Packers are clicking and the Cardinals are resting, then the Packers should win.  I don’t know how much Whisenhunt is going to play his starters, so it could go either way.

PREDICTION:  Green Bay Packers 31, Arizona Cardinals 28