NFL Playoff Picture: 3 Keys to NFC Championship

The Green Bay Packers have a great opportunity to run the table by going 16-0. They are unquestionably the best team in the NFL which is why they will end up with home-field advantage.

To be the best, you have to beat the best, and Green Bay is the defending Super Bowl champion for a reason. There are three keys to win the NFC Championship this year and they all revolve around defeating the Packers.

Matching Green Bay Point-for-Point

New Orleans seems like the team that has the best opportunity to match the Packers in the scoring department. They almost pulled off the opening-game upset of the 2011 NFL season with a 42-34 loss at Lambeau field.

The Saints average 32 points per game compared to Green Bay’s 36 points per game.

Thirty-six points per contest in the NFL is just silly.

To stay with the Packers, offenses will have to be able to put points on the board. The New Orleans Saints, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons all have offenses that are capable of putting points on the board to compete with the Packers.

Slowing Down Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers is playing some of the best football from the quarterback position in the history of the NFL. He’s been on an absolute tear, and he doesn’t seem like he’s slowing down anytime soon.

Teams won’t be able to stop Rodgers, but they must contain him as much as possible.

Rodgers is averaging 305 yards per game, third in the NFL. He has thrown for 4,125 yards, 39 touchdowns and six interceptions—simply incredible.

He is completing 70 percent of his passes on the season. His chemistry with his receivers and tight ends is uncanny to anything I have ever seen. Every game has seen at least a multiple touchdown performance from No. 12.

There have been nine games where Rodgers has thrown three touchdowns and four games where he has thrown four touchdowns.

San Francisco is a team that can play enough quality defense. The New York Giants also have the pass rush to compete with the Packers.

Winning in Lambeau Field

The "Frozen Tundra” will most likely see the NFC Championship game played in Green Bay. Teams must have the necessary ingredients to pull off the upset over the undefeated Packers, but who will be qualified?

The San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints, Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons either play indoors or in decent-weather conditions. That leaves one team that is accustomed to playing outdoors in freezing cold conditions and that is the New York Giants.

New York has the experience of pulling off the upset against Green Bay. They have an experienced Super Bowl MVP quarterback in Eli Manning, a defense that can get after the quarterback and a team that plays well when nobody thinks they can win. 

The Giants have the best opportunity to pull off the upset followed by the Saints.