Packers vs. Falcons: Green Bay Will Embarrass Atlanta, Again

Going into the season, analysts believed that the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons were both Super Bowl contenders. They were half right.

The defending Super Bowl champs look even better than last year.  The Packers have the highest scoring offense in the league this season, averaging a whopping 37 points per game.  Critics may want to point to a 31st-ranked pass defense as a weakness, but a major reason Green Bay surrenders so many yards through the air is because their opponents are forced to abandon the running game so early.

Atlanta, on the other hand, isn’t flying high after the first four weeks of the season.  The addition of Julio Jones was supposed to transform the Falcons' offense, but it’s done anything but.  A Michael Vick injury and a two-point victory over the lowly Seattle Seahawks are the only things standing in between Atlanta and an 0-4 start.

On Sunday Night Football, the Falcons have virtually no hope.  Sure, the game is at the Georgia Dome, but Green Bay is on fire and hasn’t even been threatened the past two weeks.  With their mediocre defense, the Falcons only hope to upset the Packers is in a shootout.

Aaron Rodgers and company will put up big numbers, and Matt Ryan and his weapons will have to match them.  Establishing the running game with Michael Turner, who’s averaging 4.5 yards a pop this season, would be a big help, but against the Packers second-ranked run defense, that’ll be easier said than done.  Ryan, though, hasn’t exactly taken a step forward this season as his passer rating has plummeted.

Part of the reason he hasn’t equaled his 2010 production is because his offensive line has regressed.  Through the first three years of his career, Ryan was only sacked 23, 19 and 17 times.  This season, he’s already been wrestled down behind the line of scrimmage 13 times; Clay Matthews is drooling.

Last year, the Packers slaughtered the Falcons 48-21 on the way to the NFC Championship.  Is Atlanta capable of taking revenge?  Definitely, but it would be quite the shocker.

David Daniels is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and a Syndicated Writer.  Follow him on Twitter.