Green Bay-Arizona: Showdown in the Desert Proves Tough Loss for Packers

From the opening play, it seemed like it would be a long day for the Green Bay Packers.  An interception thrown by quarterback Aaron Rodgers led to a quick Arizona Cardinals score, and the Packer fans were having immediate flashbacks of a Tampa Bay Buccaneers loss in Week Nine.

The game was heavily dominated by the Cardinals' explosive offense in the first half.  Missed chances by the Packers, particularly on defense, led Green Bay to doubt themselves come the beginning of the third quarter.

In typical Green Bay fashion, though, the Packers didn't give up.  With the defense playing poorly, it was all on the shoulders of Aaron Rodgers and the Packers wide receivers.  Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, and Jermichael Finley had outstanding games.  Although there were a few occasions where passes were dropped, the talented trio came up big when it mattered.

Skip ahead to overtime.  45-45, the game was set to be a true classic.  With Green Bay winning the opening toss and electing to receive, the Packers looked a shoo-in to take the win considering how their offense had been playing.

Like every young quarterback, though, Aaron Rodgers made a mistake.  With a fumble on a crucial third down and a recovery that led to the game winner for Arizona, Aaron Rodgers proved that he was indeed like Bart Starr, losing his first playoff game.

The fumble was a questionable one, though.  At first glance, it looked like a sure winner, but a replay suggested that there could have been a possible facemask call.  However, the color yellow was never shown, and so another call had gotten away from the officials.

Besides that, the Arizona defense struggled.  For the second best defensive team in the league to struggle like they did, they honestly don't deserve to go and face New Orleans.  Charles Woodson had an ordinary day, and so did possible rookie of the year candidate Clay Matthews.

Kurt Warner was also the deciding factor.  Having missed only a handful of passes on the day, he was the epitome of a well-timed quarterback.  Any suggestion of his retirement will be quickly shoved to the back of Cardinal fans' minds as Kurt is looking as good as ever.

While the Packers came up short, this isn't the end.  There is no doubt that Aaron Rodgers is the future of the team considering his impressive comeback performance today.  Veteran wide receivers, accompanied by young, up and coming wide outs like Finley, will provide the Packers with the "home run" style offense they love to play.

The defense struggled, but Dom Capers did the best he could.  For a transition to the 3-4 to work as well as it had this season, is nothing short of amazing. 

It may be all over this season, but the Pack will be back.