The Green Bay Packers will play against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday for the honor to play in Super Bowl LI. It has been a long road for the team as they endured a four-game losing streak and sat at 4-6 after ten weeks, but somehow managed to get back on track, win the division, host a playoff game, and now, they find themselves one game away from a trip to the Super Bowl.
Green Bay Packers NFC Championship Keys to Victory
Packers Secondary vs. Falcons Passing Game
Heading into the season, Pro Football Focus ranked the Packers secondary as the fifth best unit in the National Football League; however, as injuries piled up throughout the season, the unit is now one of the worst in the league. At one point in the season, the top four cornerbacks were out, and in the final game of the regular season, they lost three corners in three plays.
“We lost those three corners, three plays in a row,” head coach Mike McCarthy told USA Today.
Although it seems, defensive coordinator Dom Capers has found a way to patch the thin secondary, at least thus far, Green Bay has been lucky that the New York Giants receivers did not show up, and Dallas under Dak Prescott is not the same offense as it is under Tony Romo.
Opposite them is not just the best offense in the NFL; it is the eighth-highest scoring offense of all time. Matt Ryan has orchestrated one of the finest offensive seasons in NFL history, and with the array of weapons he has at his disposal it will be difficult for anyone, let alone the Packers thin secondary, to stop, or at least slow them down.
Stopping Atlanta’s Historically Great Offense
Atlanta has scored 540 total points, which averages to 33.8 points per game. Compared to the rest of the league, the Falcons have scored 71 more points than the second place New Orleans Saints, which averages to four and a half more points per game than the second place Saints.
Ryan has been the most consistent player in the NFL, bar none. He threw touchdown passes to an NFL record 13 different players while setting career-highs in passing yards (4,944), touchdowns (38), interceptions (7), and passer rating (117.1).
Since Aaron Rodgers proclaimed his team could ‘run the table’, he has been on a historical tear, but according to ESPN, Matt Ryan has played just as well, if not better during that span. Ryan has completed more passes, thrown less off-target passes, and has the highest quarterback rating in the league while Rodgers is second. Ryan has been nearly flawless on passing third downs with a QBR of 96.5 to Rodgers’ 79.6, which compares favourably well when you consider the league average is 52.5. And, by the way Matt Ryan has done that with Julio Jones missing 97 plays.
Clearly, the Packers have their hands full in this contest. It won’t be easy, and it will likely be a high-scoring affair.
Prediction: Packers 45-Falcons 42
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