Green Bay Packers: 3 Matchups to Watch in NFC Championship

The Green Bay Packers have their shot at redemption and a Super Bowl on the line at Lambeau against the Buccaneers tomorrow, and winning matchups will be a huge piece of what propels them to a victory. Last week they won big matchups against the Rams and moved on, winning by two touchdowns.

The first was Corey Linsley and the rest of the interior offensive line against Aaron Donald. Donald clearly wasn’t 100 percent, or the Packers’ offensive line was just so good they made it appear so. Either way, this was a huge matchup win for Green Bay as they bashed the Rams on inside runs repeatedly, including Aaron Jones’ big run to start off the second half.

The next was Cam Akers against Krys Barnes and the rest of the Green Bay Packers’ run defense. Akers ran well, totaling 90 yards on the day, which was what kept the Rams in the game. However, they stopped him when it mattered late in the game, and in the Rams’ final two drives, he rushed twice for just eight yards. Akers ran over Barnes, who had a club on his hand, for a touchdown, but the offense got out to a big enough lead that Akers couldn’t take over.

Finally, we had Robert Tonyan against linebacker Troy Reeder in the passing game. He needed to be and continues to be a big factor for this offense, with everyone keying on Davante Adams. Adams will always do his thing, but having other weapons is crucial. Tonyan finished with four catches for 60 yards, including a big one at the end of the half, which netted the Packers a field goal and a two-possession lead going into the break.

So let’s look at the matchups that will be crucial for a Packers’ win this week.

Aaron Rodgers vs. Tom Brady

It’s finally happening. Aaron Rodgers facing off with Tom Brady in the playoffs. Earlier this week, Rodgers joked on the Pat McAfee show that they would both be lining up at safety, clearly parodying all of the people in the media that are marketing it as a true matchup even though they play on opposite sides of the ball.

I understand that it’s exactly what I’m doing here, but how could anyone not write about this kind of storyline. Storylines aside, though, which quarterback plays better will be possibly the biggest deciding factor in the game, as in most NFL matchups.

On one side, you have Tom Brady, a pure pocket passer who has been surrounded with some of the best weapons in the game, even with Antonio Brown ruled out. If the Packers give him all day to throw, like in week six, he’ll tear them to pieces again. They need to get after him with the pass rush and trust their secondary to do the job on the back end.

For the Packers, of course, we have Aaron Rodgers, who is having an MVP year and is playing possibly his best football ever. A big key for the Buccaneers was pressuring Rodgers in week six, but the offensive line has shown that the amount of pressure he was under was one bad week in a season of great protection.

Rodgers’ ability to break the pocket and make plays off-schedule is what gives him the edge over Brady as a quarterback. If both teams have plans to send heavy pressure all game long, I like the Packers’ chances with a sturdy offensive line and a quarterback who we know can move.