Will Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers upset the Seattle Seahawks this weekend?
By Kyle Hutchison (Please follow Kyle on TWITTER for live tweeting during the game)
Championship weekend is finally upon us. Arguably, the best weekend of the NFL season, it has played host to “The catch”, “The drive,” and the infamous rant by Richard Sherman after he tipped the potential game winning pass to seal a Seattle victory in last year’s NFC championship.
This year’s NFC Championship game has the star power for an intriguing matchup. Aaron Rodgers, who had a heroic performance last week against Dallas, is leading the Green Bay Packers into Seattle to face the Legion of Boom and defending champion Seahawks.
The two teams opened up the 2014 NFL season on September 4th, but for the Packers it was a season opener to forget. Seattle dominated Green Bay, winning 36-16.
Rodgers was held to 189 yards passing and one touchdown while also throwing an interception and having a fumble that lead to a Seattle safety. Marshawn Lynch stole the show running for 110 yards and two touchdowns.
Starting the season slow after that statement win, Seattle has returned to form after trading troublesome wide receiver Percy Harvin. They are riding a six-game wining streak in which they have been dominating their opponents.
Seattle’s defense ranked number one overall (1st in pass yards, 3rd in rushing yards) has not allowed more than 17 points in that same stretch. The offense has picked up too, becoming the top rushing offense in the NFL with the emergence of Quarterback Russell Wilson and continued success of Marshawn Lynch.
Aaron Rodgers looked good last weekend, playing on a torn calf muscle, but that was against a shaky Dallas defense. Green Bay’s best chance in this game is to ride a resurgent Eddie Lacy and open up the passing game for Rodgers.
Kickoff for the game is at 3:05 PM Eastern time.
The second of the two games this weekend features a rematch between the Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots. We all remember the Jonas Gray game where he rushed for a Patriots record 4 TD’s. Gray won’t be a part of this game since the Patriots brought back running back LeGarrette Blount the week after Gray’s huge game.
The ending score of the first game was 42-20, but it was never really that close. The Patriots took an early lead and never looked back. Luck ended up having pretty good numbers (303 yards 2 TDs and 1 INT) but ultimately lost the game.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Patriots returned to their power running success from the first contest since the Colts defense has struggled against the run all season. The Colts will need to shore up their run defense and have a big game by Andrew Luck if they are going to have a chance in this game.
The AFC championship game kicks off at 6:40 PM Eastern time in Foxborough.
I will be live tweeting both the AFC and NFC championship games so follow my twitter @HUTCH_noSTARSKY for live updates on the games.
Kyle Hutchison can be reached at khutche@udel.edu