Green Bay Packers: 5 Keys to Win vs. New York Giants

The Green Bay Packers barely came away with a win over the New York Giants to improve their record to 12-0 and keep their perfect season intact.

It wasn't an easy game for Green Bay, who needed a last-second field goal to come away victorious, but a win is a win and I don't think we'll be hearing any Packers complaining about picking up this victory in hostile territory.

Here are five keys to Green Bay's win over the Giants on Sunday.

1. Aaron Rodgers

When Aaron Rodgers is playing like he was on Sunday, the Green Bay Packers are going to be difficult to beat.

While it wasn't his best game of the season, it was still an extremely dominant performance from No. 12. He finished the day with 369 yards and four touchdowns, but more importantly, he led a last-minute drive that gave Green Bay the victory.

I don't really understand how any other name in the league can come up in MVP talks because Rodgers has been so much better than anyone else this year. It's his world, we just happen to be living in it.

2. Clay Matthews

It was a great game for Clay Matthews on Sunday.

It started with an interception returned for a touchdown early in the second quarter to give the Green Bay Packers their first lead of the game. While Matthews has never been known for his coverage ability, he made a great jump on the ball to get the interception.

Matthews also recorded a sack on the day and was generally causing pressure on Eli Manning. With the Packers' defense having so much difficulty stopping teams lately, Matthews is going to need to continue to make big plays for this unit.

There is no doubt that Matthews is becoming a more complete linebacker, which is a scary thought for every other team in the NFL.

3. Calm Under Pressure

After giving up a huge touchdown just barely over a minute into the game, it would have been easy for the Green Bay Packers to start feeling pressured.

However, even after failing to score on their first possession of the game to tie things up, the Packers never allowed themselves to get into panic mode. While they didn't spend much of the game playing from behind, had they not stayed calm during the early moments of the game, they could have made mistakes and been down by way more points than they actually were.

Their calmness under pressure was truly shown after the New York Giants tied the game up with a little under one minute remaining. Still, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers' offense never appeared rattled or panicked when driving down the field with time running out.

Championship teams can't get frazzled when things start poorly, so it was nice to see Green Bay stay calm and stay the course.

4. Special Teams

Even though Mason Crosby missed a field goal earlier in the game, he still made the big one that counted to give the Green Bay Packers the victory.

However, even more impressive than Crosby on Sunday was punter Tim Masthay. He had five punts and landed four of them inside the 20-yard line.

His ability to pin the New York Giants deep in their territory was a big reason the Packers were able to come away with the victory.

5. Ability to Adapt

One thing we saw last year from the Green Bay Packers was their ability to adapt and to overcome injuries.

Well, with Desmond Bishop and Josh Sitton sitting out in Sunday's game, the Packers once again showed these abilities. It's these abilities that put Green Bay on a completely different level than any other team in the league.

While most teams would be devastated if their starting left tackle, star guard or their best defensive player got injured, Green Bay just keeps on course and does what it does best.

Of course, we all hope that Bishop and Sitton return soon, but if they don't, Green Bay will still be able to adapt and win football games.