NFC Championship Preview

The NFC in the 2016-2017 season is currently one of the best conferences that football has seen in years. Between power-house offenses, defensive strongholds and a large handful of potential MVP candidates, it’ll be interesting to see which team comes out and represents this side of the NFL in the Super Bowl.

Green Bay Packers vs. Atlanta Falcons – Sunday 3:05 pm ET

These two teams met up and faced each other in week 8 of the regular season this year, with the result being a 33-32 victory for the Falcons. Since that time however, both of these teams have changed, and changed for the better at that. This is a matchup featuring two quarterbacks who are frontrunners in the MVP debate, with the Falcons’ Matt Ryan and the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers. But besides these two all-star quarterbacks, how do the rest of their teams hold up? Here’s a quick analysis.

The home-team Atlanta Falcons are a force to be reckoned with. Between a double-headed rushing threat, a three-pronged wide receiver attack, and a defense that’s hitting a pretty decent stride, it’s safe to say that the Falcons will be scoring quite a few points in this game. Julio Jones, arguably one of the best wideouts in football, is going up against a secondary with more people on the injury report than on the active roster. Combine this hefty weapon with the likes of Taylor Gabriel and Mohamed Sanu, the Falcons will be able to tear the Packers up through the air. If the Packers decide to go all-out on the pass-defense front, then that will open up the rushing attack for the explosive talents of Atlanta running backs Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman. I wouldn’t be all that surprised if Atlanta goes through the whole game without having their punter on the field for a single snap. The Falcons defense, on the other hand, isn’t particularly as good as the offense. Outside of the monstrous Vic Beasley, the Falcons defense is much more of a damage control defense rather than a force to be reckoned with. Lucky for them, however, the Packers are pretty banged up.

The Packers have many weapons on offense. With playmakers like Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Jared Cook, and Geronimo Allison, combined with the talents of Davante Adams and Jeff Janis, this offense looks great. However, almost all of those people just listed were on the injury report this week, and if not this week, then they missed a few weeks earlier in the year due to injury problems. Combine the health problems with a sad looking secondary and a ground attack that hasn’t found its form yet (due to various injuries), one would think that there is no way that the Packers could win a game. But the Green Bay squad has one absolute game changer on their team: Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers can pull a miracle out of his ass on any given Sunday to win a game. If Rodgers escapes the pocket, more often than not the play will go for at least a first down if not some kind of miraculous touchdown catch. Add this playmaking ability to the power of divine intervention in the case of various Hail Mary plays throughout his career, Aaron Rodgers should not be underestimated by any means. Although the Pack doesn’t have many healthy weapons, they still have the most dangerous man in the NFL right now. If the Packers are going to win, then they need to rely heavily on the likes of Rodgers and his insane ability to make something out of nothing. If the Falcons can find a way to take Rodgers away from the game, then they should be golden, but throughout this season, that has proven to be a difficult task.

Written by Rick Wronski