Aaron Rodgers, Packers Clinch Home-Field Advantage Throughout NFC Playoffs

The road to the Super Bowl goes through Lambeau Field.  

The Green Bay Packers clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a 35-16 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

On paper, this is not exactly a surprise. After all, the Packers went 13-3 last season and advanced to the NFC Championship Game, where they lost to the San Francisco 49ers. They also brought back one of the most talented quarterbacks in NFL history in Aaron Rodgers with dangerous weapons around him in Davante Adams and Aaron Jones.

Still, there were question marks about this team in September following an offseason that left many scratching their heads.

Green Bay selected Utah State quarterback Jordan Love in the first round of the draft despite the presence of Rodgers, selected Boston College running back AJ Dillon in the second round despite the presence of Jones and didn't add a reliable No. 2 wide receiver to take some of the pressure off Adams.

While Love and Dillon could certainly help in the future, they were surprising additions for a team in win-now mode.

Still, the Packers have not missed a beat in a testament to the greatness of Rodgers, Adams and Jones. 

The signal-caller is an MVP candidate, Adams is a touchdown machine who seemingly scores every week, and Jones is a reliable back who can pick up difficult yardage between the tackles and bounce to the outside with his speed. As long as that trio is on the field come playoff time, the Packers will be a daunting out for any NFC team.

Green Bay has looked daunting for much of the season thanks to a 4-0 start and strong play of late.

Despite an up-and-down stretch in the middle of the year that featured losses to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Minnesota Vikings and Indianapolis Colts, the team turned things around with six straight wins that started with a Nov. 29 victory over the Bears.

It also helped in the race for the No. 1 seed that the New Orleans Saints lost two in a row in December to the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, and the Seattle Seahawks went through a rough stretch with three losses in four games in October and November following a 5-0 start. Green Bay also earned the tiebreaker over the Saints with a head-to-head win in September.

The result is home-field advantage for a Packers team that is looking for its first Super Bowl title since the 2010 campaign.