NFL Green Bay Packers

Aaron Rodgers Will Lead Green Bay Packers To NFC Championship Game

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By @MWCompton

Aaron Rodgers Packers

Jeff Hanisch-USA Today Sports

The Dallas Cowboys will square off against the Green Bay Packers for the first time in the postseason since “The Ice Bowl” in 1967 when they meet in Sunday’s NFC Divisional Playoff game at Lambeau Field. While success in the trenches will be among the keys to success in this one, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, despite a nagging calf injury, must continue playing at a high level for Green Bay to turn back Dallas, the NFL’s best road team, and advance to the NFC Championship game.

The Packers (12-4) are undefeated at home this season, while the Cowboys (12-4) are a perfect 8-0 on the road. This contest marks just the third time in NFL history that an unbeaten road team meets an unbeaten home team in the playoffs. Rodgers, like his teammates, plays better at home, and with temperatures expected to be below 20 degrees at kickoff, the Packers’ home-field advantage in the bitter cold weather will also play a significant role in deciding the outcome.

Held out of practice by team doctors on Wednesday, Rodgers hasn’t been on the field since re-injuring his calf on Dec. 28 against the Detroit Lions in the regular-season finale. Despite limited practice time since suffering the injury against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 16, Rodgers is confident he will be on the field and ready to go on Sunday.

Rodgers has been nearly perfect at Lambeau over the last two seasons. The likely 2014 NFL MVP, Rodgers completed 67.1 percent of his passes for 2,334 yards and 25 touchdowns at home this season. Incredibly, he has not thrown an interception there since 2013. All told, Rodgers threw for 4,381 yards and 38 touchdowns to just five picks this season.

The savvy Rodgers has everything you want in a leader, and he is at his best when the stakes are high. While his ability to extend plays and scramble away from pressure will be compromised due to his tweaked calf, Rodgers, who rarely gets rattled, is clearly an elite big-game quarterback, especially at Lambeau Field.

Beating the Cowboys, however, will be no easy task for the Packers. Led by quarterback Tony Romo and running back DeMarco Murray, the Cowboys can move the ball and put points on the board with any team in the league. Dallas travels well and was the only team to beat the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field this season.

Stopping short of repeating his early-season mantra of R-E-L-A-X, Rodgers, despite the lack of on-field preparation for Sunday’s game, indicated this week that he plans to play. If the Packers prevail with a hobbled Rodgers leading the way, the star quarterback may have a new signature phrase: “I’m going on Sunday,” he told the media on Wednesday.  “It’s just a matter of how.”

Michael Compton is a Jacksonville Jaguars writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter at @MWCompton and connect with him on Google.

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