Patriots, Packers Is Matchup of Unstoppable Force vs. Immovable Object

For Green Bay Packers fans, nothing new will come from this statement: Aaron Rodgers is playing high-caliber football. This might come as a shock to supporters of the Green and Gold, though: If any team is built to stop Green Bay, it's the Patriots.

Aaron Rodgers, the Packers quarterback, is currently on pace for a 4,301-yard, 44-touchdown and only four-interception season, putting him at a quarterback rating of 119.3. Due to the assistance of his arm, the Packers have won seven of their past eight games, making them one of the hottest teams in the National Football League.

One reason for Rodgers' efficiency is his supporting cast in the passing game.

Both Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson seem to be having Pro Bowl-level seasons, combining for a total of 1,903 yards and 19 touchdowns so far in 2014. Davante Adams, a second-round pick out of Fresno State, moved into the third-receiver role, replacing Jarrett Boykin, early in the season. Adams, too, has been productive, netting 28 receptions for 296 yards and three touchdowns.

From out of the backfield, running back Eddie Lacy has gained 335 yards via receptions, including three touchdown catches, one which occurred in last week's win against the Minnesota Vikings. Green Bay also uses a tandem of tight ends, Andrew Quarless and Richard Rodgers, which has combined for four scores and 367 yards on 32 receptions.

The offensive line, finally looking like five long-term options working in unison after many years during the Rodgers era when there were only parts, is probably the best in head coach Mike McCarthy's tenure in Green Bay.

Made up of four college blind-side tackles and a rookie center, the linemen had to be molded in Green Bay, as they weren't ready for high-level football out of the box general manager Ted Thompson drafted them in.

Now, David Bakhtiari, a second-year fourth-round pick, Josh Sitton, a Pro Bowl guard, Corey Linsley, a fifth-round rookie, T.J. Lang, a consistent guard who was originally moved from right tackle, and Bryan Bulaga, a former first-rounder who's missed time due to a number of injuries, are front and center in the offense.

In fact, Rodgers has never played a 16-game season in which he didn't take at least 36 sacks, his last two totaling over 50 each. This season, the newly accustomed offensive line has only allowed 22.

With the offensive line being able to keep pressure off Rodgers, Green Bay currently leads the league in passer rating at 115.8, seven points ahead of the noted hyper-efficient Denver Broncos headed by future hall of famer Peyton Manning. They're also tied for the fewest interceptions in the NFL offensively. Bleacher Report's Ian Kenyon noted Rodgers' impressive stats, despite his one "bad half" in the Saints matchup:

"

Rodgers' played injured in 2nd half of game vs Saints, threw two INT. If you take out that one half, he'd have 29 TD, 0 INT in past 10 games

— Ian Kenyon (@IanKenyonNFL) November 23, 2014"

On the flip side, the New England Patriots, whom the Packers will be facing on Sunday, are built to take away the air game. The AFC leading squad is currently the fifth-best team in defensive passer rating, and they are third-best in defensive completion percentage.

Despite losing Aqib Talib to the Denver Broncos, the Patriots made an improvement in their defensive back unit this offseason. The largest addition, by far, was Darrelle Revis, the All-Pro cornerback, who replaced Talib as the premier boundary defensive back on the team.

Brandon Browner, a Pro Bowl corner, was added via Seattle, but up until recently, he hadn't seen playing time due to a suspension and subsequent missed practices due to the suspension.

Lastly, Patrick Chung, who had spent four years in New England prior to playing for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013, was put onto the team to start in the back end of the defense.

Together, along with Devin McCourty, an All-Pro free safety, the four defensive backs make up the starting base unit for the Patriots defense. The names, along with the statistical efficiency of the names, should be on the minds of the Packers all week.

One could make the case that the Patriots made those moves this past offseason because of the most recent Super Bowl. The Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady rivalry has been the biggest game in the AFC as long as anyone can remember now. In the past Super Bowl, Manning's Broncos were suffocated by the Seattle Seahawks' secondary, tabbed the Legion of Boom.

So, it might not be a coincidence that New England went out of their way to put four premier pieces together for their defensive back unit, including Browner, who had been a big part of the "Legion of Boom" secondary in Seattle.

Against the Broncos earlier in 2014, the Patriots came away victorious in a 43-21 effort. Manning's squad just couldn't keep up offensively.

If New England was able to stall the Denver passing game, ranked second in efficiency in the league, then could it do the same to Green Bay, ranked first, at home?

No matter the outcome, the game will be based on strength-on-strength matchups. For Green Bay, it's potential 2014 Pro Bowlers in the air like Nelson, Cobb and Rodgers. For New England, it's Revis, Browner and McCourty.

At the end of the day, it could also be Super Bowl preview, as Odds Shark lists the two squads at the top of their power rankings, just above the Manning Broncos at No. 3.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this article stated that part of Brandon Browner's importance as a signing was that he'd played against Manning in the Seahawks' Super Bowl XVIII victory, but he was suspended at the time. We regret the error.