NFL Playoff Predictions: Why the Green Bay Packers Will Cruise on Sunday

The Green Bay Packers finished the season 15-1 and were the NFL's top team all season. They have also won 21 of their last 22 games and look almost unstoppable. This weekend they host the New York Giants, a team they beat 38-35 in Week 13.

The Giants are coming off a 24-2 thumping of the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, and they have won three straight games entering the divisional round of the playoffs. While the G-Men are playing well and have defied the odds this season, Sunday's trip to Lambeau Field will likely be the end of their road.

The Packers are led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who has been flat-out fantastic this season. The 28-year-old signal-caller completed 68.3 percent of his passes this year for 4,643 yards, with 45 touchdowns and just six interceptions. He led the NFL in yards per attempt (9.25) and his passer rating of 122.5 set the single-season NFL record. And he did all of that in just 15 games, as he opted to sit out Green Bay's season finale.

Rodgers led what may have been the league's most efficient offense. The Packers were third in total offense, averaging 405.1 yards per game, while they led the NFL in scoring at 35.0 points per game. 

The Giants possess an outstanding pass rush that racked up 48 sacks during the regular season. But the downside is they ranked 29th in passing yards allowed (255.1 yards per game). With the way Rodgers can spread the ball around to all of his targets, a leaky secondary like that will be New York's doom.

Eli Manning and the Giants can throw the ball around the field a bit, too, as their passing offense ranked fifth in the NFL this season (295.9 yards per game). But Manning is mistake prone, as his 16 interceptions from this season show. Green Bay's defense thrives on that kind of inaccuracy, as it led the NFL with an incredible 31 interceptions this season.

New York may be able to keep up with the Packers in a shootout for a while, but Rodgers and all of his weapons are healthy and well rested. They should be in top form. That means the Giants would have to be almost perfect to knock them off. 

I just can't see that happening. The Packers will cruise into the NFC title game.