Green Bay Packers: How Aaron Rodgers Proved He Was Elite vs. Atlanta

If you didn't believe it before, you'll believe it now: Aaron Rodgers somersaulted himself into the discussion of elite quarterbacks last night vs. Atlanta.

Rodgers has dealt with everything this season: injuries to crucial players, injuries to himself and a one-dimensional offense.

Aaron Rodgers is the first quarterback in NFL history to throw 10 touchdown passes in his first three games. It looks like those years backing up the legendary Brett Favre paid off.

Last night, Rodgers went into Atlanta and did something that teams have had trouble with since Matt Ryan was drafted—win in the Georgia Dome.

The stadium was rocking in the beginning—at one point, they showed the decibels to be at 99. The Packers even went through an early turnover by Greg Jennings and were down 7-0 when Rodgers took over towards the end of the first quarter.

The next quarter would be a thing of brilliance, as Rodgers and the Packers struck early in the second to tie it up at seven all after an 81 yard drive. From that point on, Green Bay never looked back. They put 28 points up on the Falcons in the second quarter alone.

Green Bay ended up trouncing Atlanta 48-21 when it was all finished. Rodgers threw for 366 yards and three touchdowns, running for another 13 yards and a touchdown. Also, he only missed five passes the entire game and hasn't had less then a 122.5 quarterback rating so far in the playoffs.

Not only that, Aaron Rodgers even sat out the fourth quarter after Crosby nailed a 43-yard field goal with around 6:30 left.

Rodgers has lead Green Bay downfield all season. Even last night, the running game seemingly didn't exist, as Starks only had 66 yards with an average of 2.6 yards a carry.

Aaron even finished the season with 28 touchdowns and 3,922 yards while missing a game and a half of play. His passing yards are seventh best in the NFL and his touchdowns are tied for sixth best with none other then Matt Ryan. 

Like I said before, he did something that's only been done twice before: win in Atlanta. He picked apart the Atlanta defense and even got revenge on John Abraham for stealing his championship belt, a move Rodgers has done all season long.

The funny thing is, no matter how many times John Abraham and the Atlanta front seven rushed Rodgers, they missed sacks left and right. Aaron Rodgers danced around every tackler that rushed at him and even after that, he struck his wide open receivers for first downs.

Rodgers has led the sixth seeded Packers into the NFC Championship game, a 10-6 team that's been described as probably the best sixth seeded team in history.

Aaron Rodgers knows how to play football, plain and simple. He can squeeze a pass through the tightest of holes and can throw the ball in an area that only his receiver can get at. He has great precision passing—his 65.7 completion percentage was fifth in the NFL.

Next week, whether it be in Seattle or Chicago, watch Aaron Rodgers once again seemingly take over a game and lead his team to victory. After all, that's why he has the C on his jersey. He's the leader of the Green Bay Packers. 

Now critics of the young quarterback out of Cal have one less thing to criticize him about. After a devastating loss last season to Arizona, he has won his first two playoff games this season, not only that, has he led the Packers to the NFC Championship game, and he did it all on the road.