The Green Bay Packers operate counter to basic football logic. They're a passing team first and foremost. Teams that pass the ball as frequently as they do aren't supposed to control time of possession.

After all, every incomplete pass stops the clock.

But the Packers somehow defy that fact of football life and manage to milk precious minutes off the clock. And it doesn't hurt that they've discovered new-found success in running game to assist in that task.

By doing so, they ensure they keep their opponent's offense off the field, something the Chicago Bears are going to have to work hard to change in the uber-important NFC Championship game.

"You get to this point in the season, offenses and defense are going to do a good job," said Bears quarterback Jay Cutler on Wednesday. "The Packers right now are really hot.

"They're running the ball well, they're throwing the ball well. Third down, they've been extraordinary. Aaron [Rodgers is] not missing many passes, so whenever we get the ball, we're going to have to make it count."

Rodgers has been a big reason the Packers are dominating in time of possession as of late, which in turn has helped them go on a four-game winning streak heading into Sunday's game.

The Packers signal caller currently holds the NFL record for career postseason completion percentage at 73.3% (minimum 50 attempts). And when his passes aren't off the mark, the clock isn't stopping.

That's helped the Packers win the time of possession battle in eight of their last 10 games, including the playoffs. In their most recent playoff win at Atlanta in the divisional round, the Packers controlled the ball for 38:19 against a Falcons team that finished No. 3 in the league in that category.

That particular mark was the best by the Packers in a postseason game since the statistic began being recorded in 1977, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Rodgers took time yesterday to credit James Starks and the running game, which has allowed him to have success in the play-action passing game, completing passes and continuing to own time of possession.

"James did a great job against Philadelphia [in the wild card round] making big time runs," said Rodgers. "I think only 66 yards against Atlanta last week, but 25 carries.  So at least we're able to give the look as if we're trying to take the run game, which really helps out the play action game."

These dual-threat Packers have also been able to put together long, sustained drives.

Between their playoff wins at Philadelphia and Atlanta, the Packers were able to go on five consecutive five-minute drives all culminating in a touchdown, the first time any NFL team has done that in a single postseason since the 1990 New York Giants.

It's something the Packers have been able to do all season long. They led the NFL in 2010 with 30 drives of five-plus minutes.

Defending both the run and the pass has given Bears head coach Lovie Smith cause for concern.

"They have a lot of weapons on the offensive side," said Smith. "Starks has really given them a boost in the running game. But it's tough on a defense when you have to, you're thinking about the run as much as you're thinking about the pass. Lately, of course, they're harder to defend because of that.

"Seems like the last couple of playoff games, they've really got that running game. But for us, it would help us a lot if we could force them to go to one of them rather than have to defend both."

Luckily for the Bears, they've been better equipped at stopping the Packers than most other teams. Chicago was able to limit Green Bay to converting on only 6-of-21 (28.6%) third down attempts in their two regular season meetings this season.

The Bears finished No. 6 in the NFL in that category in 2010, holding teams to an average 34.7% third-down conversion rate.

That should help them in their efforts at stopping the Packers from owning the clock and going on those long, scoring drives. It could mean the difference between going to Dallas or staying home for the Super Bowl.