For the first time in Aaron Rodgers’ career, the Green Bay Packers will host the NFC Championship at Lambeau Field. The Packers opened their playoff run with an impressive 32-18 win over the Los Angeles Rams Saturday afternoon at Lambeau Field.

The Packers’ defense was the first to get a shot at things in this one and they delivered. Green Bay forced a three and out so fast that, if you were finishing up grabbing a beer and a snack for the game at kickoff, you just may have missed it. Linebacker Preston Smith tipped Rams’ quarterback Jared Goff’s pass on third down to force the quick punt.

The offense, just as they have all season, came out swinging on their first drive. With help from quick first downs from wide receiver Davante Adams, running back Aaron Jones and wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, the Packers found their rhythm quickly and didn’t look back.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was locked in from the jump and caught the Rams on a substitution for a free play. Rodgers, the notorious free play king, capitalized on the free play and connected with wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown for a 27-yard play. Despite their efficiency in the red/gold zone all season, the Packers couldn’t get 7 on the board and had to settle for a field goal and the 3-0 lead.

Los Angeles then responded with a field goal of their own to tie the game at 3-3. The Rams started to find something on their next drive with back-to-back plays over the middle for 28- and 19-yard gains but fell victim to a false start penalty on 4^th and 1.

No worries for Green Bay though. The Packers responded with a monstrous 7:59 drive that extended 14 plays and 84 yards (ESPN stats) and was easily their most impressive outing of the day. With first downs from all three running backs- Jamaal Williams, AJ Dillon and Jones- the Packers then bought themselves a few extra yards, following an unnecessary roughness penalty on the Rams. Guard Elgton Jenkins frustrated the hell out of defensive tackle Aaron Donald and bought the Packers free yards after Donald grabbed his facemask after the play.

From there, Rodgers connected with wide receiver Allen Lazard for a first down to put Green Bay in scoring position. This time, Green Bay capitalized on the opportunity too. Rodgers motioned Adams over before the snap and he quickly slipped in the endzone to make a 1-yard touchdown catch, with cornerback Jalen Ramsey looking furious he couldn’t keep up with him, to give the Packers a 10-3 lead.  

The defense continued to do its thing in the first half, forcing another Rams punt after linebacker Za’Darius Smith secured a sack and fellow linebacker Christian Kirksey made a strong stand on third down.

Then, Green Bay really started to have some fun. After back-to-back first downs from Jones and MVS, Adams found himself winning his one-on-one battle with Ramsey again, setting up Williams for yet another first down conversion on the play. Then, the old man Rodgers joined in on the parade and scrambled for a 1-yard touchdown to extend Green Bay’s lead. The Packers botched the snap on the extra point, so they’d have to settle for a 16-3 lead.

With just a few minutes remaining in the first half, the Rams weren’t going down without a fight. Running back Cam Akers ran all over the Packers on their next drive and, before you could even blink, Los Angeles was in scoring position after a pair of nice catches over the middle of the field. They took advantage, cutting Green Bay’s lead to 16-10.

With 29 seconds left in the half and two timeouts left, the Packers tried to finish things off rather aggressively in the first half of this divisional matchup. Rodgers quickly connected with Adams off a 21-yard pass and then quickly connected with tight end Robert Tonyan for 33 yards and a first down. Rodgers, doing his best Brett Favre impression, fired two quick shots in the endzone but both were almost picked off and the Packers looked to kicker Mason Crosby to hit a 39-yard field goal to give them a 19-10 lead at halftime.

Once again, if you were grabbing a snack during halftime and missed the first few seconds of the second half, you missed something big. Jones busted through Los Angeles’ line for a 60-yard run to open the half and immediately put Green Bay in the gold zone. After a first down from Williams, Jones finished what he started on the drive and pushed into the endzone for a 1-yard score. The Packers attempted a two-point conversion and came up short, so they extended their lead to 25-10.

Just as they did in the first half, the defense opened the second half with a three and out. Defensive tackle Kenny Clark and linebacker Rashan Gary teamed up for a sack on third down to put the ball back in the Packers’ hands.

Then, things took a bit of a turn. After connecting with Lazard for a 21-yard pass play, Rodgers overthrew a deep ball to MVS with what would’ve surely been a touchdown. Then, Lazard dropped another pass that would’ve been a touchdown and Green Bay couldn’t connect on third down and was forced to punt.

After the Packers failed to put this one away, the Rams took advantage of the momentum shift and punished the Packers on their next drive. They shifted away from Akers and the run game and allowed Goff to just sling it and were successful at doing so. Once they hit the red zone, Akers led the way off a wildcat play and rushed 7-yards for a touchdown. Los Angeles went for two as well and got it after a nifty play call to cut Green Bay’s lead to 25-18.

The momentum shift continued to haunt the Packers on their next drive, and they were, once again, forced to punt. However, when the Packers needed the D-train to step up the most they answered the call. Clark was there again to make a big play and forced a sack on second down that led to a 3^rd and 16 play Green Bay covered well.

On perhaps the most crucial drive of the season, the offense started to connect again. After an early heart attack following a fumble from Dillion, Rodgers connected with MVS who converted a veteran-style first down play. Then, after dropping a touchdown pass earlier in the half, Lazard redeemed himself with a 58-yard touchdown play to give us our final score of 32-18.  

Clark and Gary came up huge to close the game out after sacking Goff on fourth down.

What we learned: The Packers Won Their Matchups

All week, the noise surrounding this divisional game centered around one thing: the matchups.

Davante Adams vs. Jalen Ramsey

Elgton Jenkins vs. Aaron Donald

#1 Offense vs. #1 Defense  

You couldn’t go anywhere without hearing about these storylines and rightfully so. However, the Packers dominated on every front they needed to, to win this game.

Adams continuously beat Ramsey (even staring him down after one play) and finished the day with a team high 9 receptions for 66 yards (ESPN stats). Elgton Jenkins, with help from his teammates on the o-line, outplayed the NFL’s best defensive player and Green Bay allowed zero sacks on the day. And, the Packers put up 484 total yards and 32 points on offense against the league’s best defense (ESPN stats).

What went right:  Utilizing all 3 Running Backs

For the first time all season, the Packers let Jones, Williams and Dillon loose. The result? Good things for Green Bay. Jones led the day with 14 carries for 99 yards and 1 touchdown, Williams had 12 carries for 65 yards and Dillon had 6 carries for 27 yards (ESPN stats).

With three weapons like this in its backfield arsenal, as long as the injury Dillon suffered on the fumble play isn’t serious, teams are going to have their hands full trying to figure out how to stop all three running backs in The Frozen Tundra.

What went wrong: The 3^rd Quarter & The 3-Man Rush

I guess the number 3 is just the Packers’ unlucky number because between the third quarter of this game and the three-man rush, I think Green Bay fans were starting to lose it.

Besides the big Jones run to open the half, the Packers struggled badly in the third quarter of this matchup. They couldn’t get on the board after that opening drive and the defense started to really struggle, mainly as a result of the three-man rush.

As the Packers prepare to face off with either the Bucs or the Saints next week, they must be plugged in for all four quarters if they want a shot at the Super Bowl.

Offensive MVP: Aaron Rodgers

The MVP chants at Lambeau Field were ringing loud and proud on Saturday- as they should be. Aaron Rodgers put on another stunning performance in this matchup and made the NFL’s top defense look silly numerous times. According to ESPN stats, Rodgers finished the day going 23/36 for 296 yards, 2 passing touchdowns and a 1 rushing touchdown.

Defensive MVPs:  Kenny Clark and Rashan Gary

Kenny Clark and Rashan Gary are a truly terrifying duo for teams to face off against and they delivered for the Packers on Saturday. Gary finished with 3 total tackles on the day, 2 of which were solo, 1.5 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss and 3 QB hits. Clark also finished with 3 total tackles, 1 being solo, 1.5 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss and 2 QB hits (ESPN stats).

A look at some of your takeaways!

• “Loved the game plan, wanted to see a little more pressure on Goff from Pettine, but can't complain with the outcome. Too many drops. Liked seeing all the RBs involved early. We've got a special squad this year.” - @AhhhBROTHERS
• “Great pressure with 4 today. Best corner on the field wore 23.” - @JoshJoshgiese
• “We goin’ to the Chip!  Amazing game!!! #GoPackGo” - @eric_olson7
• “JOY.” - @Sandro_46

Up next, the Green Bay Packers host either the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or the New Orleans Saints for the NFC Championship at Lambeau Field. Go Pack Go!