There’s been a lot of talk this week about the Packers and what type of 13-3 team they truly are. The bottom line in all of this, though, is that the Green Bay Packers are winning football games. They won so many games that they’re hosting a Divisional Round playoff game at Lambeau Field. 

Aaron Rodgers has been the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers since 2008. In that time, the Packers have never hosted an NFC Championship Game at Lambeau Field. When Brett Favre was the starting quarterback, the Packers hosted the Championship two times, playing in four altogether, in 1995 at Dallas (loss), 1996 at Lambeau (win), 1997 at San Francisco (win), and at Lambeau in 2008 (loss). That’s something that has eluded Rodgers for his entire career, but let’s walk it back a little bit. 

In Rodgers’ first season, the Packers finished with a 6-10 record and obviously were on the outside looking in come playoff time. Then, the unthinkable happened, and the Packers made the playoffs from 2009 through 2016, eight consecutive seasons. 

In 2009, the Packers finished 11-5 and took second place in the NFC North, giving them a Wild Card berth in the playoffs. That season, they lost a shootout in Arizona 45-51.

In 2010, the Packers finished 10-6 and took second place in the NFC North once again, this time clinching a Wild Card spot thanks to some help from the Eagles in a crazy Week 17 finish. The following week, Green Bay beat the Eagles in Philadelphia 21-16, the No. 6 seed toppling the No. 3 seed. In the Divisional Round facing the No. 1 seed Atlanta Falcons, the Packers dominated 48-21 to clinch an appearance in the NFC Championship Game. Those No. 6 seed Packers traveled to Chicago to beat the No. 2 seed Chicago Bears 21-14 and punch their ticket to the Super Bowl. The rest, as they say, is history as the Packers became four-time Super Bowl Champions winning against the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25. 

Next, the 2011 collapse happened. The 15-1 Packers secured the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye only to lose to the visiting (and eventual Super Bowl champion) New York Giants. 

In 2012, Green Bay once again finished first in the NFC North with an 11-5 record, this time hosting a Wild Card game against the Minnesota Vikings. The Packers won that game but lost the next week in the Divisional Round on the road against a hot 49ers team that would eventually go all the way to the Super Bowl. 

In 2013, a less-than-impressive 8-7-1 record was good enough for first in the NFC North, but once again the Packers lost to the 49ers, this time at Lambeau Field in the Wild Card Round. 

In 2014, the Packers looked promising and hosted a Divisional Round playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys, winning 26-21 and sending Green Bay to Seattle for the NFC Championship game. I’ll spare you the details, but we all know how close the Packers came to the second Super Bowl of Rodgers’ career. 

Next came 2015 where the Packers finished second in the NFC North and were once again a Wild Card team in the playoffs. Green Bay traveled first to Washington and beat the Redskins 35-18 after a slow start, only to come up short in overtime against the Cardinals the following week, losing in the Divisional Round 20-26, with Aaron Rodgers not even getting to touch the ball in overtime. 

Finally comes 2016, Green Bay’s last playoff appearance, where the Packers ran the table to finish the season 10-6, clinching first in the NFC North and one home playoff game at Lambeau. The Packers beat the Giants in the Wild Card Round 38-13, then traveled to Dallas to beat the Cowboys 34-31 in the Divisional Round before falling to the Falcons 21-44 at the Georgia Dome in the NFC Championship Game. 

In 2017 and 2018 as we all know, the Packers’ eight-year playoff streak came to an end. Now in 2019, the Packers are sitting pretty with a first-round playoff bye, guaranteeing them at least one home game at Lambeau Field as the No. 2 seed. 

Let’s look at this by the numbers. Since Rodgers took over as the starter, the Packers have played in 15 playoff games. Of those 15 games, only five have been played at Lambeau Field. And of those five games, his record is 3-2. 

Two of those home wins were won in the Wild Card Round meaning the Packers have only won one Divisional Round playoff game at Lambeau Field in Rodgers’ career. 

The gravity of what this 2019 season means certainly isn’t lost on the quarterback, or anyone else in the locker room. Only four players on the 2019 roster were on the 2010 Super Bowl roster, and for most of the players on the 53-man active roster, this is either their first playoff appearance altogether or their first Divisional Round playoff appearance. 

There are plenty of veterans in the locker room that know what these games mean, and understand that the Packers are only two wins (ugly or not) away from a Super Bowl berth. 

Aaron Rodgers has gone to three NFC Championship Games in his career, and all three of them have been on the road, first in Chicago in 2010, then in Seattle in 2014, and finally in Atlanta in 2016. While the Packers would still need some help this season hosting the NFC Championship Game, there’s a possibility if the Packers take care of business next Sunday in the Divisional Round, the NFC Championship Game will run through Lambeau Field (assuming someone knocks off the No. 1 seed 49ers that same weekend). With Rodgers himself acknowledging he sees the 18th hole approaching in regards to his career, this 13-3 Packers squad with a first-round playoff bye could be just the springboard Green Bay needs to make a deep run at a fifth Lombardi trophy. 

While Rodgers has certainly won playoff games on the road, this is a rare opportunity for the Packers to take care of business at home and give themselves an easier path to Miami in February. The Packers haven’t had homefield advantage in the playoffs for the majority of Rodgers’ career. Take care of business then and get one game closer to playing for a fifth trophy. As Head Coach Matt LaFleur alluded at a recent press conference, everyone is 0-0 in the playoffs. Take care of business on Jan. 12 and let the rest of the chips fall where they may, and hopefully, if the Packers are lucky, the chips fall to an NFC Championship Game at the Frozen Tundra. But one week at a time.