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.

ALLEN PARK — Green Bay has already ruled out Greg Jennings for Sunday’s game against Detroit, but Lions head coach Jim Schwartz won’t sleep any better with the knowledge.

Not many teams can absorb the loss of the former Western Michigan Broncos wide receiver, who had 67 catches for 949 yards and nine touchdowns before suffering a knee injury in a Week 14 game against Oakland.

The Packers are still loaded with weapons.

“It doesn’t change their schemes,” said Schwartz. “Jordy Nelson – (it means) more balls for Jordy Nelson. You know, they have a lot of good wide receivers. …

“I said it before a couple weeks ago about some teams: they’re not going to run out of anybody to hand the ball to. The Packers aren’t going to run out of anybody to throw it to – that’s the way they’re built and they play to their strength that way.”

Aside from Nelson – who is third in the NFL in both touchdowns (12) and yards per catch (18.7) – quarterback Aaron Rodgers can look to veteran Donald Driver, the Packers’ all-time leading receiver; tight end Jermichael Finley, whose athleticism makes him more of a wideout; and James Jones, who has seven touchdowns on the season, including a pair in last week’s win over Chicago.

“You know, you can fall into a trap if you pay too much attention to one player,” said Schwartz. “Whether it is Jennings, even though he’s not going to play, whether it’s Jordy Nelson, whether it’s Donald Driver, you know, Jermichael Finley. You pay too much attention to one – they have a lot of other weapons that can make big plays down the field.”

Just one month ago, we wondered whether Aaron Rodgers would shatter every significant single season quarterback record in NFL. Back then, the Green Bay Packers gunslinger was on pace to surpass Marino’s passing yards mark, Brees’ completion rate, Manning’s passer rating clip and Brady’s TD record.

Now, just four increasingly human performances later, and not only are those records out of reach, but Rodgers has also opened the door for what once seemed like an inconceivable MVP debate.

Rodgers’ numbers in that last four Packers’ games:

11/24 @ DET—CMP%: 68% QB RAT: 117

12/4 @ NYG—CMP%: 61% QB RAT: 106

12/11 vs. OAK—CMP%: 57% QB RAT: 97

12/18 @ KC—CMP%: 47% QB RAT: 80

Meanwhile, Drew Brees has elevated his play, eclipsing Rodgers in a few statistical categories and even gaining supporters for his own MVP bid in the process.

Atlanta Falcons coach Mike Smith, for instance, made the case for Brees when he said: “Drew’s having in my mind an MVP season, there’s no doubt about that. … He’s distributing the ball extremely well. They’re a top 10 team in running the football, the No. 1 team in total yards, No. 2 in points. Just to watch him operate, he looks very comfortable back there running the offense. It’s just amazing to watch him go out and run that offense. I hope he’s at his highest level because if he plays any better I don’t know if there’s any way to stop him.”

Similarly, ESPN columnist and MVP voter, Ashley Fox, echoed Smith: “If New Orleans wins its last two regular-season games, against Atlanta and Carolina, and—as expected—Brees obliterates Dan Marino’s 27-year-old record for passing yards in a season, I will be hard-pressed to vote for Rodgers over Brees.”

Personally, I agree with Smith and Fox that Brees’ gaudy stats are nearly impossible overlook, but Rodgers’ are equally as freakish. Particularly, I think that the fact that Rodgers scores more, while turning the ball over less, gives him the edge.

But, what do you think?

Here are the numbers:

Aaron Rodgers

Green Bay Packers (13-1)

2011-12 – Passing Yards: 4360 Yds/Gm: 311 TD: 40 INT: 6 QB RAT: 120 COMP%: 68%

Drew Brees

New Orleans Saints (11-3)

2011-12—Passing Yards: 4780 Yds/Gm: 341 TD: 37 INT: 11 QB RAT: 109 COMP%: 72%

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GREEN BAY, Wis. — In theory, the Green Bay Packers’ group of receivers is deep and talented enough to make up for the loss of one player — even one as good as Greg Jennings.

It just didn’t look that way in Sunday’s loss at Kansas City.
Tight end Jermichael Finley dropped passes, and he wasn’t the only player who struggled to hold onto the ball. Jordy Nelson was relatively quiet after a couple of head-scratching offensive pass interference calls went against him. And when Aaron Rodgers needed to make big plays at the end of the game, nobody was open.

“We have to be on top of our game, and we weren’t in Kansas City,” Nelson said. “That’s all that matters.”

Jennings sprained his left knee in the Packers’ Dec. 11 victory over Oakland, and is not likely to return until the playoffs. He made a brief appearance in the locker room Thursday and appeared to be walking without difficulty, making a couple of moves to avoid reporters.

The Packers have a chance to wrap up home-field advantage in the NFC with a victory over Chicago on Sunday night, but they’ll likely need a better performance from their receivers to beat the Bears.

Rodgers acknowledged the offense was out of rhythm against the Chiefs.

“I think it’s us not executing and making the plays we expect to make and them playing good defense,” Rodgers said. “So all offenses are aided by a good rhythm, keeping drives going, converting on third downs, being good in the red zone. We just didn’t do those things on Sunday and they controlled the football, controlled the clock and the urgency just wasn’t there when we were on offense and we didn’t make the plays.”

Offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said it’s too simplistic to say the Packers’ struggles were simply a case of the Chiefs being able to spend more attention covering everybody else with Jennings out.

“When you watch the film, there’s more to it than that,” Philbin said. “I thought at times, we had guys open that maybe the protection didn’t allow us to get to. At times, our protection was very good and we didn’t get guys open, so everybody thought, `God, the o-line got their (butts) kicked.’ Usually in football, it’s never that cut and dried.”

And while the dropped passes are beginning to mount for Finley this season, Philbin fully expects him to bounce back.
“Obviously there’s a couple relatively easy catches that he missed the other day, but we had other guys drop the ball as well,” Philbin said. “There’s no magic formula. He’s got good hands.”

Nelson, meanwhile, acknowledged that a pair of early interference calls changed the way he played Sunday.

“It affects you because you’re out there playing the game the way you’ve always played,” Nelson said. “So when you get two flags, especially as quickly as I did back-to-back like that, you kind of have to change something, because obviously what I was doing was incorrect. You have to adjust to the way the game is being officiated and move forward. I don’t think I was ever in the situation again with the back-shoulder throw the rest of the game. But it’s part of the game and you’ve got to adjust.”

The Green Bay Packers (13-1) return home to Lambeau Field and host the Chicago Bears (7-7) on Christmas night. It’s just the second time the Packers have played on Christmas; the only other time was in 2005 and that game was also against the Bears at Lambeau Field. Chicago won that game 24-17.

The Packers’ chance at an undefeated season ended at Kansas City on December 18th with a 19-14 loss to the Chiefs. The loss itself wasn’t as disturbing as the way the game was lost. The Packers high octane offense was largely shut down by the Kansas City defense, and the Chiefs’ offense maintained control of the ball with time consuming drives that kept Aaron Rodgers and company off the field. Green Bay’s defense allowed 438 yards and had no sacks, and no answer for Chiefs’ quarterback Kyle Orton. Injuries to the Packers’ offensive line have reached a critical stage; Aaron Rodgers was under constant pressure and was sacked four times.

The Bears come into the game with injury problems of their own with quarterback Jay Cutler, running back Matt Forte, and wide receiver Johnny Knox out. After going 0-4 with Caleb Hanie filling in for Cutler, Bears coach Lovie Smith will start Josh McCown at quarterback. McCown replaced Hanie late in the Bears loss to the Seattle Seahawks on December 18th, but before that, he hadn’t played in the NFL since 2009. Forte is the Bears leading rusher, and Knox is the leading receiver. With all this top talent out of action, it’s no wonder the Bears have scored just 27 points in their last three games.

Green Bay’s offense struggled last week against Kansas City’s defense, but the Packers also hurt themselves by dropping passes and committing penalties. The Packer receivers will have to adjust to not having Greg Jennings until the playoffs. They still have plenty of receivers, but Jermichael Finley and Jordy Nelson in particular will need to step up. The makeshift offensive line will have to protect Rodgers better than it did against Kansas City. Although tackle Chad Clifton is nearing a return from his back and hamstring injuries, he may still not be ready. His replacement, Marshall Newhouse, has not been impressive and will be up against Bears’ defensive end and team sack leader Julius Peppers.

With their offense struggling, the best and probably only shot the Bears have at winning is for their defense to keep the Packer’s offense off the field as much as possible. The Bears still have an outside shot at the playoffs with a victory, and Green Bay will clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs with a win so both teams are motivated. The Bears defense will hold down the Packers’ scoring, but not enough for Chicago’s depleted offense to overcome. The Packers should bounce back from their first defeat and win in a low scoring game.

Mark Hudziak is a Featured Contributor in Sports for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. He has been a fan of the Green Bay Packers since the Vince Lombardi Era.

Sources:

Chicago Bears.com

Chicago Bears Yahoo! Sports Site

Green Bay Packers.com

Green Bay Packers Yahoo! Sports site

Packers: Scouting the Chicago Bears

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