New England, the top seed in the AFC with a 13-3 record, and New Orleans, No. 3 in the NFC, haven’t lost in the second half of the schedule. Like Green Bay (15-1), both have dynamic, sometimes unstoppable offenses led by magnificent quarterbacks, bolstered by a deep and dangerous group of receivers.

All three also have so-so defenses that often require Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Tom Brady to win shootouts. That’s a difficult way to prosper in the postseason, particularly when playing against a rugged, versatile defense such as the 49ers, Ravens and Texans possess.

“A lot of it is working on what we need to work on; working on things that have been a problem for us, that if they come up again we need to handle better,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said, not mentioning in particular a penchant for falling into deep holes. New England rallied from 17-0 and 21-0 deficits to win its past two games.

Remember, also, that New England has lost its past three postseason games, including at home to the Ravens and Jets the past two years.

Behind Brees’ record-setting performances, the Saints soared past all eight opponents at home, but if they can handle the Lions next Saturday night in the Superdome, then they must head to San Francisco. And if they get by the formidable Niners, who rode a stingy, big-play defense to a 13-3 mark, a date at potentially frigid Lambeau Field is likely.

That is, if the Giants don’t start partying like it’s 2007. They were seeded fifth that year, but closed the regular season with a close loss to unbeaten New England. Then the Giants knocked off division winners Tampa Bay, Dallas and Green Bay before shocking the Patriots for the championship.

New York won three of its last four, including impressive defensive efforts in wins over the Jets and Cowboys to grab the NFC East title. Defense was an issue for much of the season, but with the pass rush suddenly reborn, the Giants can be dangerous.

“Different guys, different teams. I’d love to have the same ending as the ‘07 team,” Giants guard Chris Snee said. “We certainly have the capability of doing that, as we have shown. I’m happy just to be in the playoffs. We’ll take it from there. I don’t spend too much time reminiscing about that glorious time in our life.”

Baltimore, like New Orleans and Green Bay, went 8-0 at home and is an entirely different team on the road (4-4). Still, with some help from outside — ironically, the AFC North rival Steelers are the most likely to provide it — the Ravens might not have to leave the Inner Harbor to get to Indianapolis in February.

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — The Green Bay Packers will be without three key players on offense in Sunday’s game against Detroit.

Running back James Starks (knee/ankle), receiver/kick returner Randall Cobb (groin) and receiver Greg Jennings (knee), who has missed the last two games, won’t play in the regular-season finale.

Coach Mike McCarthy would not say Friday whether quarterback Aaron Rodgers will sit the game out.

“The most important thing with Aaron is he’s ready to play,” McCarthy said. “It’s important for the quarterbacks, we repped all three of them this week. So I’d like to see all three of them play in the game, is the initial plan as we started the week.”

Rodgers didn’t shed any light on whether he would play.

“I’m going to leave it up to Mike,” he said.

The Packers also listed right tackle Bryan Bulaga (knee) as doubtful. Linebacker Clay Matthews (ankle) and cornerback Charles Woodson (knee) are questionable.

McCarthy has been coy this week about his approach to Sunday’s game after the Packers (14-1) clinched the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

While the playoffs-bound Lions (10-5) can gain the No. 5 seed in the NFC bracket by winning at Green Bay for the first time since 1991, the Packers don’t have anything riding on the final score against their longtime rivals.

“It ain’t the end of the world. We’ve still got them playoffs,” Green Bay tight end Jermichael Finley said.

The Packers will have a first-round bye and won’t play again until the Jan. 14-15 weekend.

McCarthy shrugged off the suggestion that a loss would hurt his team’s momentum.

“I don’t ever worry about the outcome of the game,” he said. “I’m a firm believer in trusting the process. I truly believe we’re going to win this football game. So I’m more concerned with the process leading up to this game, and I’ll be just as much concerned as the process leading up to our next competition.

“Games are won, in my opinion, throughout the week. We fully expect to win this game.”

The Packers would be counting on a combination of Matt Flynn and Graham Harrell to lead the league’s No. 1-scoring offense if Rodgers doesn’t play for only the second time in his four seasons as the starter.

Flynn, a fourth-year player, made his only pro start Dec. 19, 2010, with Rodgers out because of a concussion. Flynn played well in the prime-time game on the road against the heavily favored New England Patriots, who hung on for a 31-27 win.

“I want to see Matt Flynn play like he did in New England, but take it a step further – win the game,” McCarthy said.

Harrell is anxious to get his first regular-season action since he signed with the Packers as a free agent in 2010.

“I’d love to get in, but we’re going out to win,” Harrell said.

And Harrell wouldn’t be surprised if Flynn, not Rodgers, makes the start Sunday.

“It’ll be interesting,” Harrell said. “I don’t think you can go wrong either way. Aaron, he’s been healthy almost his whole career. He’s a smart player, and he obviously helps us win. So letting him get some action would be good for us, but if they decide to rest him, it obviously makes a ton of sense as well.”

Notes: DE Ryan Pickett and LT Chad Clifton are expected to play. Both veterans are probable for the game. Pickett missed the last two games because of a concussion. Clifton hasn’t played since suffering a hamstring injury Oct. 9 and then a back injury during his rehab work. Finley also is probable. He practiced the last two days on a limited basis after a sore knee kept him out Wednesday. . McCarthy said the team would practice Wednesday and Thursday and possibly Friday next week before an opponent is known for the divisional round of the playoffs. “We’re going to keep our players mentally and physically on the same time clock,” McCarthy said.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers will be without three key players on offense in Sunday’s game against Detroit.

Running back James Starks (knee/ankle), receiver/kick returner Randall Cobb (groin) and receiver Greg Jennings (knee), who has missed the last two games, won’t play in the regular-season finale.

Coach Mike McCarthy would not say Friday whether quarterback Aaron Rodgers will sit the game out.

“The most important thing with Aaron is he’s ready to play,” McCarthy said. “It’s important for the quarterbacks, we repped all three of them this week. So I’d like to see all three of them play in the game, is the initial plan as we started the week.”

Rodgers didn’t shed any light on whether he would play.

“I’m going to leave it up to Mike,” he said.

The Packers also listed right tackle Bryan Bulaga (knee) as doubtful. Linebacker Clay Matthews (ankle) and cornerback Charles Woodson (knee) are questionable.

McCarthy has been coy this week about his approach to Sunday’s game after the Packers (14-1) clinched the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

While the playoffs-bound Lions (10-5) can gain the No. 5 seed in the NFC bracket by winning at Green Bay for the first time since 1991, the Packers don’t have anything riding on the final score against their longtime rivals.

“It ain’t the end of the world. We’ve still got them playoffs,” Green Bay tight end Jermichael Finley said.

The Packers will have a first-round bye and won’t play again until the Jan. 14-15 weekend.

McCarthy shrugged off the suggestion that a loss would hurt his team’s momentum.

“I don’t ever worry about the outcome of the game,” he said.

“I’m a firm believer in trusting the process. I truly believe we’re going to win this football game. So I’m more concerned with the process leading up to this game, and I’ll be just as much concerned as the process leading up to our next competition.

“Games are won, in my opinion, throughout the week. We fully expect to win this game.”

The Packers would be counting on a combination of Matt Flynn and Graham Harrell to lead the league’s No. 1-scoring offense if Rodgers doesn’t play for only the second time in his four seasons as the starter.

Flynn, a fourth-year player, made his only pro start Dec. 19, 2010, with Rodgers out because of a concussion. Flynn played well in the prime-time game on the road against the heavily favored New England Patriots, who hung on for a 31-27 win.

“I want to see Matt Flynn play like he did in New England, but take it a step further – win the game,” McCarthy said.

Harrell is anxious to get his first regular-season action since he signed with the Packers as a free agent in 2010.

“I’d love to get in, but we’re going out to win,” Harrell said.
And Harrell wouldn’t be surprised if Flynn, not Rodgers, makes the start Sunday.

“It’ll be interesting,” Harrell said. “I don’t think you can go wrong either way. Aaron, he’s been healthy almost his whole career. He’s a smart player, and he obviously helps us win. So letting him get some action would be good for us, but if they decide to rest him, it obviously makes a ton of sense as well.”

Notes: DE Ryan Pickett and LT Chad Clifton are expected to play. Both veterans are probable for the game. Pickett missed the last two games because of a concussion. Clifton hasn’t played since suffering a hamstring injury Oct. 9 and then a back injury during his rehab work. Finley also is probable. He practiced the last two days on a limited basis after a sore knee kept him out Wednesday. . McCarthy said the team would practice Wednesday and Thursday and possibly Friday next week before an opponent is known for the divisional round of the playoffs. “We’re going to keep our players mentally and physically on the same time clock,” McCarthy said.

Read More: Greg Jennings (WR – GBP), Charles Woodson (CB – GBP), Clay Matthews (LB – GBP), James Starks (RB – GBP), Randall Cobb (WR – GBP), Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers have nothing left to play for during the final week of the regular season as they’ve already clinched homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, but a win against their NFC North compadres in the Detroit Lions would still give them momentum heading into the playoffs. The Green Bay Packers final injury report for Week 17 indicates that might be a difficult process, however.

The Packers listed two starters at skill positions as out on Friday, meaning both wide receiver Greg Jennings and running back James Starks are going to be in street clothes on the sidelines Sunday afternoon. Both players are dealing with knee injuries.

Along with Starks and Jennings, rookie wide receiver/kick returner Randall Cobb is also listed as out with a groin injury. Offensive lineman Brian Bulaga is listed as doubtful, Clay Matthews and Charles Woodson are questionable and the remaing players on Friday’s injury report are probable.

For more on the Lions, check out Pride of Detroit. For the flip-side, you can check out our Packers blog at Acme Packing Company. You can also head over to SB Nation’s main NFL hub at SBNation.com/NFL.

Don’t write the Packers into the Super Bowl just yet. Just as Green Bay has finally shown some chinks in its armor in December, its primary challengers for NFC supremacy are looking more and more formidable.

New Orleans has been the best team in the league of late, with a seven-game win streak that includes victories over playoff teams in the Falcons (twice) and the Lions as well as a 25-point blowout of the Giants. Drew Brees, who broke Dan Marino’s single-season passing yardage record with one game to spare, has his offense operating with head-turning efficiency. The streaking Saints have averaged 498 yards in their last five games.

The Packers’ other main NFC roadblock excels on the other side of the ball.

The 49ers, who showed their playoff chops with a 20-3 pounding of Pittsburgh two weeks ago, the Steelers’ lowest scoring output in more than four years, boast a punishing defense the likes of which Aaron Rodgers & Co. haven’t seen this year. San Francisco allows 13.5 points per game, the best mark of any team in the last five years, and leads the league in turnover margin at +26, four better than Green Bay.

Meanwhile, the Packers have shown in the last month that they may not be the slam-dunk Super Bowl team that their white-hot start indicated.

First, the Giants gave the defending champs all they could handle, succumbing only after Rodgers’ final-minute heroics lifted the Packers to a 38-35 triumph. Then two weeks later, Green Bay suffered a surprising stumble at then-5-8 Kansas City, losing 19-14 to suffer its first blemish.

Even the seemingly invincible Rodgers came back to earth a bit, registering his season low in passer rating and completion percentage in three straight games before responding with a five-touchdown gem against Chicago.

The Packers’ invincible aura is certainly gone.

The New York game showed Green Bay could be vulnerable in a shootout — just the type of affair it would likely have if it meets New Orleans in the NFC Championship game. Yes, the Packers prevailed 42-34 at Lambeau in the teams’ season-opening matchup. But the Saints’ versatile rushing attack and Brees’ pyrotechnics in the passing game mean New Orleans (12-3) is uniquely positioned to grapple with Green Bay in a high-scoring affair.

Then the Kansas City defense did what appeared impossible, dictating pace and style to the NFL’s top-scoring offense, albeit a shorthanded Packer unit. The Chiefs’ harassment of Rodgers in a four-sack showing now stands as the blueprint for teams that would favor forcing Green Bay into a grind-it-out, ball-control game — otherwise known as the San Francisco special.

The 12-3 49ers have mastered the art of dismantling opponents’ offensive flow. Teams have all but given up trying to run on San Francisco’s stone wall of a front seven — the runaway league leader in run defense became the first team in NFL history not to allow a rushing touchdown through 14 games before Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch finally broke through for a score last week. Forcing opponents into a one-dimensional game plan allows an opportunistic secondary and disciplined pass rush to wreak havoc.

A potential Green Bay-San Francisco showdown in the NFC Championship would be the most anticipated playoff matchup of the year. The best offense (the Packers average 34.3 points) against a historically stout defense. Rodgers, who is threatening to break Peyton Manning’s single-season passer rating mark, facing a 49er defense that has amassed 36 takeaways, including at least three in eight games.

While it’s easy to foresee a Packers-Saints matchup as another pinball-like game in which points pile up at a dizzying rate, it’s a mystery how Green Bay would fair against San Francisco. The Packers haven’t faced a single team ranked in the top 14 in scoring defense.

At this juncture, it appears that Green Bay would have its hands full against either the Saints or the 49ers. But the saving grace for the defending champs is that they would only have to face one of those challengers — in an NFC Championship matchup at Lambeau.

That the 14-1 Packers have positioned themselves to have an easier divisional round game is why they still have to be considered the favorite to reach the Super Bowl. But make no mistake, what earlier seemed a Green Bay stranglehold on NFC preeminence has loosened considerably.