Monday 23 January 2017 06:40, UK
Green Bay Packers are aiming for a fifth Super Bowl championship.
Standing in their way, however, are the upstart Atlanta Falcons and their explosive offence, so just how do the Packers get past 'Matty Ice' and co this Sunday?
Sky Sports makes a case for the NFC North outfit, breaking down five reasons why they're set for success...
It comes to something when Neil Reynolds was forced this week to make up new adjectives to describe Rodgers' brilliance, having exhausted all others.
The numbers speak for themselves, 5,145 yards on the year, 46 touchdowns and only eight interceptions - the last of which against the Cowboys was his first in nine games.
But it's not just the numbers that are impressive, it's the manner in which he delivers them, including having a certain panache for Hail Mary touchdowns.
The Packers are familiar with the play-offs, they are regulars here. It is the eighth successive year Green Bay have been competing in January.
Green Bay have also been to the big show five time, winning on four occasions, enough to place them in the top 10 performers of the Super Bowl era.
They have the credentials that their opponents on Sunday do not - the Falcons were unsuccessful on their only visit after the 1998 season - and the Packers beat Atlanta on the way to lifting their last Vince Lombardi trophy in 2010.
Rodgers was the game's MVP in 2010 with a three-touchdown, 304-yard performance to see them past the Pittsburgh Steelers. They've done it once, why not again?
While the Packers' secondary may leave a little to be desired, their strength is in the front seven. Rookie Kenny Clark has grown throughout the season, while Mike Daniels, Julius Peppers and Nick Perry can all make a difference.
If Clay Matthews can recapture some of his best form before injuries took over, and get after Atlanta's MVP-candidate quarterback, Matt Ryan, this defence will be a tough one to stop.
Given Green Bay's suspect secondary, that is a key to Sunday's contest, as if Ryan is afforded time, he will pick the Packers apart.
A lot of the talk has focused on Atlanta's scoring machine, but Green Bay have put up more than 30 points in each of their last six games, against stellar defences such as the Seattle Seahawks, New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings.
Jared Cook made a phenomenal catch to set up last weekend's game-winning field goal against the Cowboys, and the week before Randall Cobb scored twice, including that 42-yard Hail Mary, against the Giants.
Ty Montgomery is both receiver and running back, while tight ends Jeff Janis and Trevor Davis scored against Atlanta earlier in the year.
Sure, the Packers will be sweating on the fitness of Jordy Nelson, Davante Adams and Geronimo Allison up until game day, but Rodgers has the same ability as Tom Brady to get the best out of his receivers, whoever takes to the field.
The Packers are on an eight-game hot streak, with five of those wins coming against play-off teams, the last of which was the pick of the bunch - going to Dallas and ousting the NFC No 1 seed.
It was a nervy, tight affair, with the Packers relinquishing an 18-point lead, but ultimately clinching victory with that Mason Crosby field goal in the dying seconds. This team is finding ways to win, and Rodgers' mid-season prediction of 'running the table' is proving to be prophetic.
And the Packers wouldn't be the only team to benefit from that 'win-or-bust' mentality that has served them so well over these last few weeks - four of the six Wild Card teams to win the Super Bowl have come since the turn of the century, showing it's becoming a more common occurrence.
The last of those teams to do so, the 2010 Packers. Rodgers certainly believes, and it's hard to deny he's got the hot hand.
Sky Sports is your home of NFL. Watch both Championship match-ups live on Sky Sports 1, on Sunday January 22, from 7:40pm.
