Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers offense put up a ton of points against the Arizona Cardinals defense, but it wasn’t enough.  The Cardinals defense was able to come up with the play of the game when Karl Dansby grabbed Rodgers’ fumble before it even hit the ground and scurried 17 yards into the endzone to win the game.  It sure was an exciting game, with both quarterbacks putting up monster numbers in what would become the highest scoring postseason game in NFL history.  Rodgers came out and was intercepted on the first play of the game, but boy did he bounce back.  He finished with 422 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 1 interception on 28/42 passes.  Down 17-0 after the first quarter, Rodgers slowly got the Packers back in the game, trading touchdown passes with Cardinals’ quarterback Kurt Warner throughout most of the game.  He opened up the 4th quarter with 2 touchdowns, which finally evened the game at 38-38.  After another Warner touchdown, Rodgers came right back and tied the game with under two minutes that eventually sent the game into overtime, where the unfortunate game-losing fumble occurred.

The Packers’ defense really let the team down in this game, even though the Cardinals were expected to score a lot of points.  Kurt Warner did pretty much whatever he wanted in the passing game, going 29/33 for 379 yards and 5 touchdowns.  Warner is a great quarterback, but the Packers should have been able to keep him under a  88% completion percentage.  Even more discouraging is that they gave up 156 rushing yards to a Cardinals team that has not run the ball well this year.  Aaron Rodgers has proven he is a top quarterback in this league, but the Packers need to give him a better offensive line and a stronger defense for him to make a Super Bowl run anytime soon.

The Green Bay Packers took it to the Arizona Cardinals in their 33-7 victory last week, but I wouldn’t expect another blowout for the Packers in their rematch this weekend in the NFC Wild Card game. The Packers stuck with Aaron Rodgers and most of the other starters for the majority of the game last week, while the Cardinals played their reserves for most of the game.  They will be going up against a Kurt Warner led Cardinals’ offense, which can be very explosive at times.  They only average 93 rushing yards per game, so the Cardinals are a pass-heavy offense.  Warner helped the Cardinals make it all the way to the Super Bowl last season, and he is a very good quarterback.  He threw for 3,753 yards with 26 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, while completing 66% of his passes.  He has some great receivers, including Larry Fitzgerald, so the Packers’ secondary is going to get challenged a lot.  Warner is old and slow though, so he is not very mobile.  If the Packers can close in on Warner and collapse the pocket, it will make things very difficult for Warner to make plays and it could cause some turnovers.

Aaron Rodgers has proven he is an elite quarterback, now he has to prove it in the playoffs.  Rodgers was sacked 50 times this season though, which is a big cause for concern going into the playoffs.  If the offensive line can hold up, then Rodgers will have a good game. He will need Ryan Grant to give him some support in the running game, which Grant should be able to do against a Cardinals defense that gives up 113 rushing yards per game.  This game will be a lot closer than last week’s game, but I think Rodgers is a great quarterback and will prove it in this game with a win.

PREDICTION:  Green Bay Packers 27, Arizona Cardinals 24

The Packers have lost DE/DT Cullen Jenkins for the season due to a torn pectoral muscle.  His season ends with 13 tackles and 2 sacks for the Packers this season.  Jenkins is one player that the Packers couldn’t afford to lose as he is a good pass rusher and run defender.

The Packers season ended with a thud yesterday in the bitter cold.  Brett Favre’s excellent season ended with an interception on his last pass of the season which set up the Giants game winning field goal in OT.  Brett Favre completed 19 of 35 passes for 236 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 interceptions.  Ryan Grant couldn’t repeat his success of last week as he only rushed for 28 yards on 14 carries (2.0 ypc).  Donald Driver had a great game as he caught 5 passes for 141 yards (28.2 avg) with a TD grab.  TE David Lee pitched in with 3 receptions for 35 yards (11.7 avg) with a TD catch.  The Packers finished up with 28 yards rushing on 14 carries (2.0 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 35 passes for 236 yards.

Safety Atari Bigby and tackle Corey Williams led the way for the Packers Defense with 9 tackles apiece.  The Giants finished up with 134 yards rushing on 39 carries (3.4 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 40 passes for 246 yards.

This should be a great game to watch on T.V. as the game time temperature is expected to be 4 degrees.  Still, the Giants and Packers are used to cold weather so the best team will still likely win the game. 

The Giants will need to run the football effectively to have any chance to win this football game.  That’s because the Packers don’t blitz often which leaves their linebackers in pass coverage which will hurt the Giants when they try to throw short.  With that in mind the Giants will likely try to pound the football with Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw.  It will be interesting to see who wins the battle up front because if the Giants can’t run the ball and give Eli Manning time to throw the ball this game will be over quick.

The Packers will likely lean on their running game in the frigid weather.  This will likely be a problem for the Giants who had big problems last week with Marion Barber.  Ryan Grant rushed for 201 yards last week against the Seahawks and he’ll be looking to make the Giants pay for trading him to the Packers for a 6th round pick.  The Giants will likely have huge problems with Brett Favre because he gets rid of the ball so fast that it will likely negate the Giants pass rush which is the strength of their team. 

PREDICTION:  GREEN BAY PACKERS 28, NEW YORK GIANTS 13