Formidable, Yet Vulnerable: Who Can Stop the Green Bay Packers?

The Green Bay Packers sit at 13-0, with the NFC North division locked up and a first-round bye on the horizon. At the beginning of the year, they looked good, especially quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but not nearly as good as they look now. They escaped against the Saints, used a strong second half to take down the Panthers in a close game and beat the Bears on the road by 10. But after convincing wins against the Broncos, Falcons, and a shellacking of the Rams, the Packers jumped out to 6-0 record and were tied with the Lions as the league’s only undefeated teams. But even eight weeks later, with the Packers at 13-0, they’re vulnerable–more vulnerable than ever.

Many will look at Green Bay’s last game against the Raiders as proof that this team is unbeatable. They made a good quarterback look awful, they forced turnovers and they put 46 points on the board, their second highest total of the year. Don’t get me wrong, the win over Oakland was great and the fact that Oakland was completely out of the game early is a testament to how good the Packers actually are. But it was obvious that Oakland did more to the lose the game than Green Bay did to win it. Oakland’s early picks were devastating, but it was obvious that late in the first half they could move the ball on Green Bay’s defense.

The Packer’s team this year reminds me a lot of New England last year. They had an extraordinary offense with a quarterback that was playing exceptional football but the defense was ranked 25^th overall and their only upside was that they forced a ton of turnovers. Come playoff time, the defense didn’t stand a chance against an extremely efficient New York Jet offense that limited its mistakes (three penalties and no turnovers the entire game).

Fast forward to 2011 and you have the Green Bay Packers, with their 31^st ranked pass defense. This stat is slightly misleading, as Green Bay puts some opponents into a hole so deep in the first half that they are forced to pass the ball, but they have also had some scares against good teams, so it is a noteworthy statistic. So who can take down the Packers? Here are the top NFC teams I think have the best shot in the upcoming weeks as well as the playoffs.

New Orleans Saints

The Saints already had their chance this season to knock off the Pack and failed. But who’s to say they won’t get another one come playoff time? In the first game of the regular season, the Saints were one yard and a two point conversion away from tying the game at 42 and sending it to overtime. You can bet the Saints are itching for a do-over and Green Bay’s defense would have its hands full with the league’s number one offense.

These two teams both have great quarterbacks, excellent special teams, inconsistent running games and somewhat shaky defenses. Given this matchup again, it’s a toss up. I would take the Saints and the Packers each five times out of ten. If they meet in the playoffs, it will come to down coaching.

Atlanta Falcons

When the Falcons played Green Bay, they went into the half with a 14-6 lead. A few minutes later, Rodgers connected with James Jones deep and the Packers never looked back en route to a 25-14 win. Atlanta has defensive players capable of keeping some of Green Bay’s weapons in check. They know how to get to the quarterback and force errant throws. If Atlanta can shore up its pass defense (22^nd in the league) and continue to force turnovers (13 INTs) they might stand a chance against the mighty Packers.

New York Giants

If it wasn’t for that magical arm of Rodgers' and the amazing athletic ability of Jordy Nelson, the Packers would be 12-1 and Giants would be vaulting up the power rankings. Alas, this is not the case, but we know that New York has the tempo to keep up with Green Bay and they have players on the defensive side of the ball that can hit you hard in the backfield and cause some turnovers.

Statistically, they don’t have one of the best pass defenses in the league, but you can guarantee they’ll be in your face, as the G-men have sacked opposing quarterbacks 36 times this year. I’m sure they’d like a rematch of a game that was only decided by a last-second field goal.

Detroit Lions

In a disappointing thanksgiving game that, really, was never close, Matt Stafford showed that he has a long way to go before being considered one of the best in the game. Detroit managed to keep it close in the first half, only allowing seven points. But the game blew open after half time, and Green Bay rumbled over Detroit for their 11^th win of the year. If the Lions can play defense for a full 60 minutes the way they played in that first half (Green Bay punted four times) and reduce their mistakes (11 penalties, 3 turnovers) they could potentially beat the Packers.

Not to mention, this is the last game of the regular season for both teams. A Detroit upset would be monumental, assuming the Packers are 15-0 by the time Week 17 rolls around. You can bet that Ndamukong Suh and his boys will be ready to bring the heat.

Some good teams I omitted were the San Francisco 49ers, the Chicago Bears and the Dallas Cowboys. The 49ers do not have the offense to stretch the field against a Green Bay defense that works well in tight space (42% of opponents red-zone trips are TDs at home), the Bears do not have a consistent enough offense with Caleb Hanie that can stifle the Packers and the Cowboys are an extremely poor playoff team that is immobilized defensively once DeMarcus Ware is taken out of the game.

Let me know what you think in the comments- are the Packers unbeatable? Did I miss any teams? Would the Packers beat any of these teams again if given another shot?