NFL Playoffs: NFC Conference Championship Prediction

Fail Mary? In the past. Week 1 of the 2014 Season? The Democrats still held Congress. The past encounters between the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks lay the foundation for the ultra-hyped NFC Championship game, sure, but they mean nothing when evaluating this matchup. The analysis is quite simple: If Aaron Rodgers only plays one half at full-speed a la the Divisional Round, the Seahawks saunter into the Super Bowl. That being said, what else crucially affects the game?

Eddy Lacy: Mini-Beast Mode

He’s not Marshawn Lynch, but the back-to-back 100-yard performances anchored by bullying runs will need to make a third iteration. He torched Dallas last week for 19 carries for 101 yards.

If he’s not able to threaten the ‘Hawks D, then Rodgers becomes the lone target of all of their attacks. Already nursing an injury, he needs all the indifference from Seattle he can get.

Secondaries First

Green Bay isn’t known for their defense. But when the Pack win Super Bowls, they do it with a defense and a run game that gives just enough to bolster the incomparable passing attack. Look to the Green Bay secondary to need to make some big plays downfield to keep Russell Wilson thinking short, and they might even be needed to stop a long run or two from Marshawn Lynch.

Seattle’s secondary is one of the premier in history, but even they will struggle to contain Rodgers, no matter the injury, who is coming off of a 24/35 game for 316 and three scores.

Play Your Game

This is Seattle’s game to lose, especially in the mad house that is Century Link Field.

As a life-long, die-hard Packers fan, the only way that Seattle feasibly loses is that Aaron Rodgers remains healthy the whole game and torches the defense with passes that no defender could ever get their hands on. The keys for Seattle are to remember who they are, and not let the team that went 3-3 early on to show up once again. Oh, and look out for Davante Adams ( 7 rec, 117 yards, 1 TD last week).

My Prediction: 31-20 Seattle