The Green Bay Packers won their third straight game yesterday and in doing so set up a showdown in Lambeau Field between the NFL’s two hottest teams. The New England Patriots bring a seven game winning streak to town while the Packers have won seven of their last eight games to vault into first place in the NFC North. It will be the first meeting of Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady since Rodgers became a starter in 2008.
The last time the teams met was 2010 and Rodgers sat out that game with a concussion and watched backup Matt Flynn pull a near upset in Foxborough. The Packers held their own that night went and then went on to win the Super Bowl. Many players said that game proved to them that they could play with anybody and it gave them a confidence boost that they carried to a championship.
This Sunday will not be about confidence boosts, however, the Packers already know they can play with the best teams in the league, and like that team in 2010, the Packers are coming together in the second half of the season. The biggest reason for the turnaround if you ask me is the new and improved defense.
For the first time in since really bottoming out in 2011 the Packers’ defense is making the plays that allow them to win a game like yesterdays in which the Vikings did a good job of taking away the Packers big plays on offense. The defense may only be ranked 24th in the league but part of that is because of all the garbage time yards they have given up in blowout wins over the Bears (twice), Eagles and Vikings.
The Packers have only given up more than 24 points twice this year and have held opponents under 20 points five times. With Rodgers and the Packers explosive offense you are going to win a lot of games that way.
Of course, all of this goodwill could come crashing down if the Patriots come to Lambeau and blow out the Packers like they have been doing to everybody since that ugly loss to Kansas City in September. That certainly is a possibility but the reverse is also a possibility. I don’t have a feeling yet on which way this one will go, but I do know for a fact it will be the most hyped game of the year so far.