Following an ugly Sunday Night Football loss at the hands of the Washington Redskins, Aaron Rodgers told the media that the Green Bay Packers could run the table. Not many people outside the locker room believed him, and yet here they are one win away from winning the NFC North and earning another trip to the playoffs.
Green Bay Packers Week 17 Keys to Victory
Putting the Game Away
The Detroit Lions are 9-6 because Matthew Stafford has played at an MVP level – and should be in the Pro Bowl – despite losing Hall of Fame wide receiver Calvin Johnson this past offseason. He goes through his reads, rarely forces balls, and thus has made this Lions offense harder to contain. But, the biggest improvement in Stafford’s game has been the fourth quarter. Heading into the season, Stafford had totaled 17 fourth quarter comebacks; this season he added eight prompting his total to 25. He is now tied with Matt Ryan and Tony Romo for fifth-most fourth quarter comebacks among active starters.
So, in order for the Packers to win, Aaron Rodgers and company will have to put the game away quickly. Rodgers is one of the best in the clutch, but there is no denying that this season Stafford has been the most clutch quarterback in the NFL.
Limiting the Big Play
The Green Bay Packers are finally healthy on defense and the results are showing; however, the defense, and secondary in particular, still allow too many big plays, and against a talented quarterback like Matthew Stafford that can comeback to bite you. Stafford has a quarterback rating of 94.8 on passes of 11 to 20 yards, and 81.9 on passes of 31-40 yards. He is also much better when throwing in the middle (91.3 quarterback rating) and right (95.6 quarterback rating) side of the field. During the first contest between these two clubs, Stafford brought the Lions back by gunning it deep downfield in the middle and right side of the field. Remember the 70-yard pitch and catch with Marvin Jones with less than two minutes before half time?
Packers Pass Rush vs. Lions Offensive Line
The Green Bay Packers have one of the best group of pass rushers in the NFL which includes future Hall of Famer Julius Peppers, star linebackers Clay Matthews and Nick Perry, as well as defensive lineman Mike Daniels. Perry leads the team with ten sacks, while Peppers has 7.5 of his own. Opposing them is a Lions offensive line that Pro Football Focus ranked as the 22nd best unit in the NFL before the season started. The pass rushers’ abilities to get to the quarterback will help the secondary make plays like they did against Seattle and Minnesota.
This will be an instant classic that will go down as one of the best games in the series.
Green Bay wins 21-20 on a late great drive by Aaron Rodgers to win the division.
