NFC Wild Card: Why Aaron Rodgers Is Ready To Lead the Green Bay Packers

Aaron Rodgers thrives on being the underdog.  Ever since high school he has been told that he wouldn't make it on the big stage.

Yet every time someone tells Aaron Rodgers he can't do something, it seems only to serve as motivation for him to go out and prove them wrong.  Today will be no different, as Rodgers aims to win his first playoff game as an NFL quarterback when his Green Bay Packers take on the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.

Rodgers, who was snubbed by Pro Bowl voters this season despite having the third-highest quarterback rating in the league, will be entrusted to lead the charge for Green Bay despite the presence of legitimate running attack.  The Packers lost starting running back Ryan Grant to an ankle injury in Week 2 of the regular season, are in the playoffs for the second time in as many seasons despite Grant's backup, Brandon Jackson, running for only 700 yards this season (at a clip of less than four yards per carry).

This is nothing new for Aaron Rodgers, who has not only carried this team on his back to the playoffs, but has done so fighting through concussions and at times. The receiving corps has also been depleted having to play at times without No. 2 wide receiver Donald Driver, and will be without tight end Jermichael Finley today. Throughout the whole season Rodgers has been the portrait of a rock in this franchise, standing tall when his team needed him, most recently in last week's season finale versus Chicago, where Green Bay needed a victory to even make the playoffs.

To be sure, Rodgers has not done it all by himself, however.  The Packers have one of the stingiest defenses in the league, with their 240 points allowed being fewest in the NFC.  The unit has been led by the inspired play of Clay Matthews, whose 13.5 sacks have many people talking about him for Defensive Player of the Year, and Charles Woodson, whose tenacious play at the cornerback position seemingly has cut the field in half for opposing quarterbacks.

At the end of the day, however, it will be Rodgers who leads this team to victory versus the Eagles, and how far the Packers go in the playoffs will determine on how well he accepts his role as leader. But pressure situations are nothing new to Rodgers, as it took future Hall of Famer Kurt Warner overtime last season to knock Rodgers' Packers out of the postseason.  This season, Rodgers, who has had to overcome multiple setbacks, including his own health during the regular season is finally ready to show the nation why Green Bay chose him over a certain man who used to wear No. 4 for them.