NFC Championship Game Forecast
Weather looks a bit cheesy in Atlanta
As the highly anticipated championship games approach, there’s much talk over who will represent the NFC in Super Bowl LI. On Sunday, January 22nd, the Green Bay Packers will travel down south and take on the Atlanta Falcons in the final game hosted by the Georgia Dome. The Packers, owners of an 8 game winning streak, are coming off an incredible win last week in Dallas. The Falcons are fresh off their hunting weekend, when they intercepted (no pun intended) a bunch of Seahawks. Both teams sport scorching offenses and questionable defenses, which means this game will probably end up a shootout.
The Falcons have been soaring since Week 1. Their offense ranks 1st in Points Per Game (34) and Total Points (540). To put in perspective how amazing that is, they’ve averaged 3 more points per game and a whopping 80 more total points than their closest competitor (the Saints). The offense has been fueled by MVP candidate, Matt Ryan. The 31-year old from Boston College has matured into a powerful and brilliant signal caller that utilizes every weapon at his disposal. Aside from Pro Bowl receiver Julio Jones’s 6 touchdowns, Ryan has hit 12 Falcons receivers for touchdowns, an NFL record. The Falcons talent is enough to frighten most opposing coaches, and Ryan’s ability to make the most of each receiver is the reason they were the #2 seed in the NFC.
The Green Bay Packers, on the other hand, are hot. Though their offense ranks 3 spots behind the Flacons, there’s nothing scarier than a pissed-off Aaron Rodgers. As good as Ryan is, he’ll never be anywhere close to Aaron Rodgers, which is nothing to feel bad about. The only thing stopping the Packers? The injury report. Star receiver, Jordy Nelson, has been held out ever since the NFC Divisional Round, when he broke his ribs playing the New York Giants. The Packers surprising star, Davonte Adams, injured his ankle last week against the Cowboys and has yet to practice. Backup receivers, Geronimo Allison and Jeff Janis are also listed on the injury report. Aaron Rodgers, however, has proven that his performance need not be tied to the players he throws to. Back in the divisional round, when Nelson went down with his rib injury, Rodgers turned to his other receivers and made the most of Randall Cobb, Davante Adams, etc. In the next round, in addition to missing Nelson, Adams went down in the middle of the game. Again the future Hall of Famer shrugged it off and turned to no-names Jared Cook and Geronimo Allison. The question isn’t how will the Packers play with everyone on the Injury Report, it’s who will Rodgers turn to in the this time?
The game has the ingredients for a nail-biter, with very little defense to slow down these historic offenses. So, in effect, Packers vs Falcons can be translated into Aaron Rodgers vs Matt Ryan. I’ll take Rodgers 10 times out of 10 in that matchup. The only way the Falcons can win this game is if they can get by the Packer’s offensive line. More importantly, they can’t afford to give Rodgers time, or else we’ll see one of these plays. Or one of these. Someone needs to step up, and we’re looking at you Vic Beasley. If Rodgers has time, there’s no stopping him. Even then you may not be able to. His ability to move around and throw out of the pocket is unmatched. Either way, look for a fun and high scoring game (if you’re into that, and if not nobody cares) this upcoming Sunday.
