The Packers will take on the Falcons in the NFC Championship. Since starting 4-6 in their first 10 contests, Aaron Rodgers has played lights out, leading Green Bay all the way to the conference championship. The Packers will face the most underrated team in the playoffs: the Falcons. Aaron Rodgers is playing at the highest level, but so is Matt Ryan. The Falcons quarterback leads the hottest offense in the league. Without a strong defense, Ryan has carried his team much like Rodgers. The NFC Championship will kick off at 3:05 PM. ET.
Aaron Rodgers and the Packers have taken the long road to this point, but they’re here and they’re battle tested. Last week against the Cowboys, Rodgers made one of the best throws ever. With time winding down, the Packers were in need of a miracle. They’d allowed the Cowboys to crawl all the way back into the game to tie it. With less than a minute left, the game seemed destined for overtime. With 12 seconds left, Rodgers made a 35 yard pass to tight-end Jared Cook, who was falling out-of-bounds. That play set up a 51 yard field goal by Mason Crosby to win the game.
That’s one of the best finishes a fan will ever see. And, it’s all because Aaron Rodgers can do things that no other quarterback can do. He’s simply that good. Going into the NFC Championship, the Packers have relied heavily on Rodgers to carry them. During the regular season, the Packers ranked 20th in rushing according to NFL Stats. All season, the Packers offense has lacked balance, relying too heavily on Rodgers to carry them. Rodgers is so talented that he’s been able to carry them, but that type of success is hard to sustain in a team sport.
The Falcons are so underrated it scary. No one is talking about them. That’s probably a combination of how new they are to this stage, and how well Rodgers is playing. Nevertheless, the lack of attention this offense is getting is downright ridiculous.
This season, the Falcons ranked 2nd in yards per game according to NFL Stats. Their offense ranks in the top five in both passing and rushing, making them extremely well-balanced.
Last week against the Seahawks, the Falcons offense kept churning and picked apart Seattle’s wounded secondary. The Falcons controlled the tempo of the game, and Matt Ryan was a maestro in the pocket. Ryan passed for 338 yards and three touchdowns on the afternoon. On the season, Ryan’s passing number are equally as impressive as Rodgers.
In the regular season, Ryan passed for 38 touchdowns and only seven interceptions; he averaged over 9 yards per completion, and he racked up nearly five thousand yards passing. Rodgers might get all the attention for being the game’s “most gifted passer” but don’t sleep on Matt Ryan and the Falcons offense.
Green Bay and Atlanta have two of the worst defenses remaining in the playoffs. The Packers rank 22nd in total defense, while the Falcons rank 25th according to NFL Stats. That means these two offenses are going to play big. Expect these two teams to rack up a lot of yards in this game. On the defensive side of the ball, only Vic Beasley of Atlanta and Nick Perry and Julius Peppers of the Packers will stand out. Beasley led the league with 15.5 sacks, while Perry and Peppers combined for 18.5 sacks. The offenses will define this game, but a big play on defense by one of these pass rushers could ultimately prove pivotal.
Falcons Vs Packers Betting Lines
BetOnline.ag has the Falcons favored to win the game by 5.5 points. The over/under on total points scored is 60. You can read our full BetOnline review here.
My Pick
Earlier this season, these two teams combined for 65 total points. That might seem high, but these two defenses just aren’t that good. Expect this game to total somewhere around that number. This game will come down to Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan, and which quarterback can outscore the other. The Falcons have the offense to go toe-to-toe with Rodgers and company. As long as Rodgers doesn’t have the ball in his hands with a chance to win the game in the final seconds, expect Matt Ryan and the Falcons balanced offense to advance to the Super Bowl.
Play: Falcons -5.5 @ BetOnline.ag
Falcons • NFC Championship • NFC Championship betting • NFL 2017 NFC Championship • Packers