Sunday January 8th
Wildcard Weekend
(5) New York Giants (11-5) vs. (4) Green Bay Packers (10-6)
Lambeau Field, Green Bay WI
4:40 P.M. ET
Game Day Forecast… As it stands now. = ) #wiwx pic.twitter.com/CqZofN7hXI
— WBAY StormCenter 2 (@StormCenter2) January 6, 2017
This appears to be the best game of the weekend. The Packers come into this game red-hot, winning six straight games after struggiling earlier in the season. The NFC North was an interesting division this season, as Minnesota started out strong be being grounded, then the Lions looking to be in control, before the Packers got hot and eventually took the NFC North crown.
The Giants were a strong team all season, as evident by their 11 wins, but trailed the Dallas Cowboys in the division all season long. New York’s revamped defense is the main reason why the Giants are participating in the postseason festivities. The emergence of Landon Collins should provide a test for Aaron Rodgers, who has been lights out down the stretch for the Packers, tossing 18 touchdowns to zero interceptions in his last seven games.
Neither of these teams are strangers to each other or the playoffs. This will be the 51st meeting between the two teams, with the Packers controlling the series at 32-26-2, which includes the Packers winning three of the last four matchups. The Giants are 24-24 in the playoffs while the Packers are 32-21. Aaron Rodgers and company took care of business when these two teams met up earlier in the season in a 23-16 victory.
In order for the Giants to go into Lambeau and snatch a victory from the Packers, Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. need to be on the same page. The Packers rank 30th in the NFL in passing yards allowed, and OBJ will need to take advantage of a beatable Packers secondary for the Giants to cool off the Packers.
Early on in the season, the Packers struggled mightily running the football. Moving second year wide receiver Ty Montgomery into the backfield has proven to be a successful experiment. The Packers will still have a tough task ahead of them as Damon Harrison is one of the best defensive lineman in the game at stopping the run. Montgomery’s value as a back increases as he can make big plays out of dump off passes, something the Packers would be wise to utilize on Sunday.
Prediction: Giants 24 Packers 31– Being in front of the home crowd for this matchup is going to be a major advantage for the Packers. Both teams should be neck and neck throughout the course of this game, but look for Aaron Rodgers to do just enough and make timely plays to pull a victory out in a game that has potential to be talked about for some time.
The Playoff Picture is official.#NFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/xnmwYZ10Zu
— NFL (@NFL) January 2, 2017
