The Packers are rolling right now, while the Vikings are looking like a team trying to wave the white flag.  The Vikings are turning to rookie Christian Ponder at QB tomorrow in his starting debut, and it couldn’t come against a much tougher team.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Packers have the ball:  The Vikings are going to be without both of their starting corners in this game, so Aaron Rodgers is likely going to light them up.  That is as long as the O-Line keeps DE Jared Allen (9.5 sacks) away from Rodgers.  The Packers are likely going to spread the field and let Rodgers throw to whoever he wants to based on the matchups.  The fact that he doesn’t have a favorite receiver makes him really hard to stop.  If the Packers get a good lead in this game, look for them to grind the win out on the ground with James Starks and Ryan Grant.

When the Vikings have the ball:  The Vikings are going to run the ball to protect both Christian Ponder and their defense.  So the Packers are going to have to key on stopping Adrian Peterson.  That will be easier said than done as the Vikings are averaging 142.2 yards rushing per game and 5.1 yards per carry so far this year.  The Packers are going to be blitzing Ponder like crazy and trying to force him into making some mistakes with the ball.  WR Percy Harvin is likely the only other player, other than Peterson, that concerns the Packers’ D a tad.

PREDICTION:  PACKERS 31, VIKINGS 10

The Packers are rolling along and they are getting better, especially on defense.  The Packers have won both of their home games by a combined score of 91-57.  The Rams are coming off their bye week, but that isn’t going to change the fact that they suck.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Packers have the ball:  The Packers are going to likely throw to get the lead in this game and then grind it out on the ground.  Aaron Rodgers should have a field day against a Rams’ D that is allowing 224.8 yards passing per game so far this year.  The Rams don’t have much depth at corner, so look for Rodgers to attack them down the field outstanding group of WRs.  TE Jermichael Finley is also likely to have a solid game this Sunday.  James Starks & Ryan Grant are taking aim at a Rams’ D that is allowing 179.8 yards rushing per game and 5.3 yards per carry this Sunday.

When the Rams have the ball:  Sam Bradford has been sacked 19 times already this season, so look for the Packers to send a lot of blitzes his way this Sunday.  WR Danario Alexander is averaging 24.5 yards per catch so far this year, so the secondary needs to pay special attention to him.  I have a feeling though that the Rams are going to feed the ball to Steven Jackson in an effort to control the ball and the clock.  So the front seven of the Packers better be ready for a challenge this Sunday.

PREDICTION:  PACKERS 34, RAMS 10

The Green Bay Packers have been a offensive dynamo so far this year as they are averaging 37.0 points and 429.3 yards per game!  They completed thrashed the then #1 seed in the NFL Atlanta Falcons 48-21 in the playoffs last year in Atlanta!  The Falcons are 1-0 at home this year and they will be looking for revenge.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Packers have the ball:  The Packers are going to come out spreading the field with WRs and letting Aaron Rodgers dissect a Falcons’ D that is allowing 275.5 yards passing per game so far this year.  The Falcons only have five sacks so far this year, so Rodgers is going to have the time needed to pick and choose who to throw to all night long.  James Starks and Ryan Grant will be attacking the middle of the Falcons’ D tomorrow night in an effort to keep semi-honest.

When the Falcons have the ball:  The Falcons probably want to come out running the ball with Michael Turner.  That will be easier said than done as the Packers are only giving up 71.0 yards rushing per game and 3.7 yards per carry so far this year.  The Falcons will likely be effective throwing the ball tomorrow night if they can give Matt Ryan (sacked 13 times already this year) enough time to throw the football.  Julio Jones, Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez are a pretty impressive bunch that Ryan has to throw to.

PREDICTION:  PACKERS 34, FALCONS 31

The Denver Broncos have actually been playing decent football despite their 1-2 record on the year.  The Packers have been outstanding, as expected, so far this year.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Broncos have the ball:  The Broncos are probably going to come out trying to run the ball on the Packers with Willis McGahee.  I don’t think that it’s going to work out too well though as the Packers are only giving up 55.0 yards rushing per game and 3.1 yards per carry so far this year.  The Broncos are going to have to give Kyle Orton time to throw the ball, or this game could get really ugly, really fast.  Orton will likely try to keep the passing game of the shorter variety to negate the Packers’ pass rush (they have 10 sacks already this year).  Eric Decker and Brandon Lloyd will be the Broncos’ top targets in the passing game this week, but Orton will ahve to be careful as the Packers already have five sacks so far this year.

When the Packers have the ball:  Aaron Rodgers is going to take aim at the Broncos’ secondary as they are giving up 234.7 yards passing per game so far this year.  Rodgers is going to spread the field in the passing game and he’s going to move the ball around.  This makes it very difficult for teams to stop the Packers, because it’s useless to double anyone.  Ryan Grant (kidney injury) is out for this game, so James Starks will be the main ballcarrier in the running game for the Packers this weekend.

PREDICTION:  PACKERS 37, BRONCOS 16

The bitter Packers/Bears rivalry gets renewed this Sunday at Soldier Field.  The Packers outscored the Bears last year 27-23 in a split in which each team won on their home field.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Packers have the ball:  The Packers are likely to come out throwing the ball against a Bears’ D that is allowing 270.0 yards per game so far this year.  The starting safeties of the Bears are both out for this game, so as long as Aaron Rodgers gets protection, he should have little problem moving the ball in the air.  Greg Jennings, Jermichael Finley, Jordy Nelson, Donald Driver and Randall Cobb will each get a few catches apiece this Sunday.  James Starks and Ryan Grant are going to share the carries this weekend against a Bears’ D that is allowing 114.0 yards rushing per game and 5.3 yards per carry so far this year.

When the Bears have the ball:  Matt Forte is the focal point of the Bears’ offense as he already has 117 yards rushing and 207 yards receiving this year.  The front seven are going to have to deal with him this whole game.  The Packers will try to blitz Jay Cutler early and often in this game as Jay Cutler has already been sacked 11 times so far this year.  He tends to make mistakes when he’s hit hard early in the game and it will be up to OLBs Clay Matthews and Erik Walden to get after him.  The secondary needs to be ready to make Cutler pass for rushing his passes this Sunday.

PREDICTION:  PACKERS 23, BEARS 20

The Packers got a nice 42-34 opening night victory over the very tough Saints last Thursday.  They are now heading to Carolina to face rookie sensation Cam Newton.  Look for the Packers to bring him back down to Earth with a thud this Sunday afternoon.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Packers have the ball:  The Packers like to throw the ball to get the lead and then grind it out on the ground with Ryan Grant and James Starks.  The Packers are going to come after the Panthers will all guns blazing as the Cardinals threw for 295 yards against them last weekend.  Look for Rodgers to spread his WRs out, as usual, and assault the Panthers’ weak secondary.  Rodgers will get rid of the ball quick to avoid DE Charles Johnson of the Panthers.  WRs Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson and Donald Driver are going to have fun this Sunday.  TE Jermichael Finley is a mis-match with either safety on the Panthers, so he’s going to get the ball too.  Rookie WR/KR Randall Cobb is going to be the wildcard as the Panthers had issues last week in special teams coverage.

When the Panthers have the ball:  The Packers are going to be blitzing with OLBs Clay Matthews and Erik Walden when they get off the team bus.  The Panthers allowed 4 sacks last week, so they had protection problems.  The Packers want to put pressure on Cam Newton to force him into making some mistakes with the ball.  CB Tramon Williams is going to be likely matched up one on one with Steve Smith (8 rec, 178 yards, 2 TDs), but he will likely have some help over the top.  TEs Jeremy Shockey and Greg Olsen combined to catch 7 passes for 129 yards (18.4 avg) last week, so safeties Nick Collins and Morgan Burnett are likely to have their hands full.  The Panthers will likely try to run the ball a lot more this weekend to take the pressure off of Cam Newton.  DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart are solid RBs, so A.J. Hawk, Desmond Bishop and B.J. Raji are going to have to bring their A-games this Sunday.

PREDICTION:  PACKERS 34, PANTHERS 13

This should be an epic season opener as it matches up the last two Super Bowl Champions.  The Packers are pretty healthy for this game and that should give the Saints reason to shudder a little bit.  Here’s a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Packers have the ball:  The Packers are going to come out throwing the ball against the Saints, which should come as no surprise.  The Saints are not a good pass rushing team, so Rodgers should have time to throw the ball and he won’t have to keep the passes of the short variety.  The Saints have decent CBs but none of them will cause Rodgers to redirect his passes and he will likely use all of top WRs tonight.  He will likely spread the ball around to WRs Greg Jennings, James Jones, Donald Driver and Jordy Nelson as well as TE Jermichael Finley.  As soon as the Saints bring on extra DBs, that’s when Rodgers will start handing the ball off to Ryan Grant and James Starks.  I don’t think the Packers are going to be stopped much tonight by the Saints.

When the Saints have the ball:  The Saints are going to likely run the ball more than usual tonight.  It will be up to the front seven to handle defensing the running game because the secondary is going to have to stay close to the Saints’ WRs and TEs most of the night.  If the Packers succeed in stopping the running game, then they can come after Drew Brees.  Brees does not want to meet up with Clay Matthews too much tonight.  Matthews is going to make some good plays tonight and the Packers hope at least one of them result in a turnover.  The Saints’ secret weapon is going to be TE Jimmy Graham, so Packers’ safeties Morgan Burnett and Nick Collins better be ready to deal with him.  I think that CBs Tramon Williams, Charles Woodson and Sam Shields are more than capable of stopping the Saints’ receivers tonight.

PREDICTION:  PACKERS 27, SAINTS 20

This could be an epic battle this Sunday.  The Steelers are 2-0 at home during the post season while the Packers were 3-0 on the road.  That lends to the field possibly favoring the Packers along with the fact that the people that live in the MetroPlex (Dallas, Irving, Ft. Worth and Arlington) hate the Steelers.  The Steelers do have more Super Bowl experience on the roster which should even things out a little bit.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Packers have the ball:  The big key for the Packers in this game is going to be the play of the OTs.  If Chad Clifton and Bryan Bulaga can handle LaMarr Woodley & James Harrison and keep them out of the backfield, Aaron Rodgers and his WRs are going to have big games.  The last time Rodgers played against the Steelers he completed 26 of 48 passes for 383 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 22 yards (7.3 ypc) with a TD run in the last meeting.  If the Packers split out Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, James Jones and Jordy Nelson…..the Steelers don’t have the corners to deal with them.  I look for John Kuhn to play a lot more in this game than he has in the first three games in the playoffs because he knows the Steelers’ D from playing with them for a couple years.  His blocking will be important in this game.  Rookie James Starks might also have a big game if he is the lone RB with the Packers spreading out the field.

When the Steelers have the ball:  Ben Roethlisberger had a monster game last year against the Packers.  He completed 29 of 46 passes for 503 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  I don’t think he’ll be so lucky this time around because of the awful offensive line in front of him.  The Packers will try to stop Rashard Mendenhall early in this game and force the Steelers to pass against them.  CBs Charles Woodson, Tramon Williams and Sam Shields will be up to the challenge this Sunday as long as the Packers are getting good pressure on Roehlisberger.  Clay Matthews is going to be living in the Steelers’ backfield this Sunday and there is nothing they will be able to do to slow him down.  I also think that NT B.J. Raji is going to have a huge game pushing backup center Doug Legursky around all day long!

PREDICTION:  PACKERS 31, STEELERS 20

This could wind up being an epic football game at Soldier Field tomorrow afternoon in blustery cold weather.  I would have it no other way.  The Packers and Bears split this season with each team winning on their home field.  That would seem to favor the Bears but the Packers are super hot right now.  The Packers have already slain the Falcons and Eagles on the road during the playoffs so they will go for the trifecta tomorrow afternoon in Chicago.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Packers have the ball:  Make no mistake, the Packers are going to come out throwing the ball tomorrow.  If the Packers’ O-Line can keep DEs Julius Peppers & Israel Idonije out of the backfield, Rodgers will torch the Bears’ secondary.  The Packers will likely run a lot of 4 WR sets with Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, Jordy Nelson and James Jones spreading out the Bears’ secondary which will give Rodgers a lot of options.  The Packers will also challenge the Bears’ front seven on the ground by giving the rock to rookie RB James Starks just enough to keep the Bears’ D honest.

When the Bears have the ball:  The Bears are likely going to try to feed the ball to Matt Forte both on the ground and out of the backfield in the passing game.  ILBs Desmond Bishop, A.J. Hawk and NT B.J. Raji will be the guys most responsible for trying to stop Forte.  If they can stop Forte and force the Bears to pass the ball, the Packers are going to be in business.  WRs Devin Hester, Johnny Knox & Earl Bennett don’t scare Packers’ corners Tramon Williams, Charles Woodson and Sam Shields one bit.  The Bears have been throwing more to the TEs as of late so safeties Charlie Peprah and Nick Collins are going to get challenged.  If Clay Matthews can get in Jay Cutler’s face, he will make some big mistakes tomorrow.

PREDICTION:  PACKERS 20, BEARS 14

This will be a rematch of one of the better games of the year.  The Packers were beat 20-17 by the Atlanta Falcons back on November 28th in Atlanta.  The Packers played good enough to win there but in the end the Falcons were just a tad better.  I think the result is going to be a tad different this time around.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Packers have the ball:  Rookie RB James Starks gave the Packers’ offense balance in last weekend’s win over the Eagles.  The Packers are going to need Starks to play well again this weekend which would help slow down the Falcons’ pass rush a bit.  If the Packers O-Line can keep Falcons’ DE John Abraham out of the backfield, Aaron Rodgers is going to have a HUGE game.  Rodgers threw for 344 yards in the first meeting between these two teams and he might will probably be great again tomorrow.  The Falcons don’t have enough good DBs to cover Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, James Jones and Jordy Nelson tomorrow. 

When the Falcons have the ball:  NT B.J. Raji and inside linebackers A.J. Hawk and Desmond Bishop are going to have their hands full tomorrow night with stopping Michael Turner’s inside power runs.  OLB Clay Matthews is going to be coming after Matt Ryan all game long and the Packers are hoping that he can force Ryan into making some mistakes.  CBs Tramon Williams and Charles Woodson will probably try to man up on Roddy White & Michael Jenkins and they should have success slowing them down.  The safeties will have to be very careful with TE Tony Gonzalez who still makes a lot of plays over the middle of the field.

PREDICTION:  PACKERS 30, FALCONS 27