The Green Bay Packers (11-5) and the Arizona Cardinals (10-6) will be meeting in the first round of the playoffs.  The Packers went all out and they crushed the Cards because of it.  The Cardinals were sitting a lot of their key players in a preview of their first round match-up, so this game may not tell you much about the outcome of the playoff game.  The Packers do have an advantage when it comes to rhythm, timing, and not breaking their routine.  The Cardinals will have fresher legs and have had more rest, so we will see come playoff time which has helped more.  Either way, the Packers looked very good while the Cardinals did not.

Aaron Rodgers went 21/26 for 235 yards and 1 touchdown.   Donald Driver caught 6 passes for 65 yards and the receivers were clicking well with Rodgers.  Ryan Grant and Ahman Green combined for 93 yards and 1 touchdown on 23 carries.  The Packers defense held the 187 total yards, including only 48 rushing yards.  They also forced 3 turnovers.  This was a good win for the Packers, but they cannot let this game affect how they approach the rematch in the first round of the playoffs.

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

The Packers are sending Aaron Rodgers, Nick Collins and Charles Woodson to the Pro Bowl.  26-year old Aaron Rodgers has played in 15 games for the Packers this season and he has completed 329 of 515 passes (63.9%) for 4,199 yards with 29 TD passes and 7 INTs (102.4 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 56 times for 314 yards (5.6 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  Despite losing to the Vikings twice this season Rodgers has fully stepped out of the shadow of Brett Favre.  26-year old free safety Nick Collins has really played well this season and he deserves to play in this game.  He has played in 15 games for the Packers this season and he has 52 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 12 passes defensed and he has 6 interceptions that he returned for 110 yards (18.3 avg).  33-year old cornerback Charles Woodson could very well be the Defensive Player of the Year in the NFL.  He has played in 15 games this season for the Packers and he has 74 tackles, 9 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, forced 4 fumbles, defensed 16 passes and he has 8 interceptions (134 return yards (16.8 avg)) with 2 TD returns.  The Packers would rather play in the Super Bowl so they hope they will have to cancel the plans for these three players.

The Packers have placed 24-year old OLB Jeremy Thompson on the Injured Reserve List with a neck injury.  Thompson played in 6 games for the Packers this season and he only made 1 tackle.  In two years with the Packers, Thompson has played in 15 games making 9 tackles.  The Packers won’t miss him much.