2013-14 Packers Wild Card Playoff & NFC Championship Games

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Green Bay’s 38-31 loss to Pittsburgh canceled by Chicago’s loss to Eagles
By CHRIS HAVEL
The Green Bay Packers chose an inopportune time to take a step back. With the momentum of a two-game winning streak and a snowy Lambeau Field as the backdrop, head coach Mike McCarthy’s Packers were dealt a surprising setback Sunday in a 38-31 loss to Pittsburgh.
While it is true the Packers still control their own destiny, it also is true that the Packers’ ascent toward being a serious playoff caliber team during Aaron Rodgers’ took a hit against the Steelers. The Packers (7-7-1) will capture the NFC North Division crown with a victory against Chicago Sunday at Soldier Field. That is because the Bears (8-7) were blown out by the Eagles 54-11 last night in Philadelphia.
While hope remains alive for Green Bay, the reality is the Packers must play a disciplined, mistake-free, head’s-up brand of football if they hope to compete with the Bears on Sunday. Will Mr. Rodgers return for this one last crucial regular season game? Let’s cross our fingers.
There was some good in the Packers’ loss against the determined Steelers (7-8). It included:

• Eddie Lacy rushing 15 times for 84 yards and two touchdowns before aggravating an ankle injury. He exited late in the third quarter, and while James Starks performed OK (10 carries, 47 yards), Lacy was missed.
• Micah Hyde’s clutch 70-yard kickoff return that gave Green Bay at least a chance to perhaps tie the game in the final minutes. Hyde was active defensively and is an up-and-coming player.
• A.J. Hawk’s nifty one-handed tip-and-catch for an interception afforded Matt Flynn and Co. at least a chance to keep hope alive. Hawk was the Packers’ best linebacker on the field Sunday. (By the way, why were the Steelers throwing the ball at that point? We were asking similar questions about the Cowboys seven days ago.)
• Flynn’s two turnovers were brutal, but on the whole he played OK, and one pick (returned for TD) occurred because Flynn’s own blocker hit his throwing arm as the ball was released. Flynn completed 21 of 39 passes for 232 yards and a touchdown. His quarterback rating of 69.6 is not as hoped for, but he still made several nice plays despite being constantly harassed and sacked three times.

That said, the Packers’ mistakes and self-inflicted damage caused them to fall short. Due to the Bears’ loss later Sunday, the Packers’ outcome wasn’t as deflating as their performance. A team with playoff aspirations, in a game with playoff implications, can’t make that many mistakes and expect to advance beyond the first round.
The Packers and McCarthy are getting painfully thin on time to get these recurring problems cleaned up. The most prominent miscues included: The offense running just one play during a critical 40-second span at game’s end.
“I don’t know what happened, really,” Flynn told reporters after. “The operation seemed kind of weird right there.”
The Packers received a false-start penalty which moved them back to the Steelers’ 6-yard line, and a 10-second runoff that went with it.
Then, Flynn didn’t get the snap off until there were three seconds to play. That shouldn’t happen at the high school level, let alone the NFL.
To make matters worse, it seems the Packers were robbed of clock time by inept officiating at the end, painfully reminiscent to the Wisconsin Badgers at Arizona State last September.
Flynn’s interception after being nudged by tight end Andrew Quarless that was returned by Cortez Allen for a 40-yard touchdown. It capped a 14-point Steelers’ outburst in a 14-second span late in the third quarter.
The Packers gave up three first downs by penalty. B.J. Raji’s selfish retaliation by throwing a punch wasn’t smart. Neither was Nick Perry’s false start penalty that kept the Steelers from kicking a field goal before Pittsburgh eventually scored a touchdown.
Here is a stat of concern for the Green Bay defense: Kicker Mason Crosby made more tackles (one) than B.J. Raji, Ryan Pickett, C.J. Wilson, Mike Daniels and Nick Perry combined (zero).
The special teams were painful to watch except that Hyde’s 70-yard kickoff return was a thing of beauty. Otherwise, it was a tough day for the special teams.
The Steelers fooled the Packers with a fake punt. They also blocked a field goal, although the play was negated by a very fortunate “batting” penalty against Pittsburgh. Perry’s offside didn’t help, and the kick coverage was rough.
Other than that, it’s a wonderful life for George Bailey and Shawn Slocum, I suppose. Given the Packers’ 38-31 loss and the Bears’ 54-11 humiliation coming into Sunday’s game, it is possible we could see a high-scoring, once-in-a-Packers/Bears lifetime-freewheeling affair. 
It sounds like fun. It also sounds like a Chicago Bears’ victory if the Packers’ defense and special teams don’t tighten up, if AR doesn’t play and if Matt Flynn doesn’t find a way to quit giving it up. Through it all, McCarthy must feel a bit like George Bailey in that memorable holiday classic movie. He has seen what life for the Green Bay Packers would be like if they lost Aaron Rodgers (or $8,000 as in the movie), but just when despair is upon him, McCarthy finds a way to lead the Packers to victory and a division title.
The Packers’ fans celebrate mightily while the Bears are vanquished, and an angel gets his wings. At least I think that’s how the movie ends, Green Bay-style.

Packers vs Steelers: December 22

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Flynn leads Packers to 37-36 victory over Cowboys in improbable tale of two halves
By CHRIS HAVEL
Texans like to brag about how everything’s bigger down there. Today, I couldn’t agree more, because the Green Bay Packers’ 37-36 victory over the Cowboys on Sunday could not have been bigger. The Packers (7-6-1) are within a half-game of the first-place Lions for the NFC North title, with Detroit (7-6) hosting Baltimore (7-6) tonight on Monday Night Football.
Matt Flynn threw four second-half touchdown passes and Eddie Lacy slammed into the end zone from 1 yard out with 1:31 to play to cap an improbable second-half rally. Green Bay trailed 26-3 at halftime before Flynn and a salty defense helped the Packers tie for the biggest comeback in franchise history.
I will say this for Flynn: When he has a big game he doesn’t mess around. Much like the backup quarterback’s six-touchdown pass game of his life against Detroit, Flynn’s monster second half Sunday breathed life into the Packers’ season.
If Green Bay wins out, and Detroit loses one of its final three games (the Lions play the Ravens tonight, the Giants at home next week and the Vikings on the road to finish), the Packers will capture the NFC North and host an NFC wild-card playoff game.
The Packers’ victory Sunday was almost surreal. After a dismal first half in which almost everything went wrong, head coach Mike McCarthy’s team got it together after intermission. Dallas never knew what hit it.
Tony Romo threw two interceptions in the final three minutes, the first a phenomenal steal by Sam Shields to set up the game winning TD drive and the second Tramon Williams’ game-clincher, to seal the Cowboys’ fate. When Dallas owner Jerry Jones mandated that the Cowboys and Romo play better in December this isn’t what he had in mind.
“This is one of the hardest losses that I’ve experienced,” Jones said. “That’s a shame that we’ve lost that ballgame.”
A crying shame, in fact, except it was the Packers’ tears of joy.
“It took me everything not to cry,” McCarthy told reporters after the game. “I’m just drained … just the sheer emotion. It was incredible.”
For Flynn, who finished 26 of 39 for 299 yards, four touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 113.1, it seemed like a dream.
“What a feeling!” Flynn said. “As we were taking a knee, we were thinking, ‘Is this real? Is this happening?’ ”
Tramon Williams was pleased but not surprised. He kept the faith because he believes in his teammates.
“Most guys would pack it in – ‘Guys, it’s not our season. Let’s go home and get ready for next year,’ ” Williams said. “It’s not that vibe here.”
Williams’ clutch interception iced the game for the Packers. He had an earlier pick wiped out by replay.
It was a measure of redemption for a Packers’ defense that has been much-maligned during Green Bay’s five-game winless streak without star quarterback Aaron Rodgers. But after blanking Atlanta in the second half of last week’s 22-21 victory, the defense held Romo and the Cowboys to just 10 second-half points.
Packers’ placekicker Mason Crosby drilled a 57-yard field goal, which ties for the longest in team history, and it provided the winning margin.
Lacy, the brutish rookie running back, rushed for 141 yards on 21 carries, including a 60-yard burst that set up one of Green Bay’s five second-half scores. Jarrett Boykin (six catches for 83 yards) and Andrew Quarless (six catches for 66 yards and a touchdown) combined for 12 receptions in as many targets. Jordy Nelson had five catches for 61 yards and a touchdown, and James Jones added three for 49 and a score.
The Packers now await word on Rodgers’ health and potential medical clearance to play this week against the Steelers. After the game, Flynn sounded as if he anticipates Rodgers’ return this week.
The Packers’ epic rally sent the Cowboys (7-7) into scramble mode, although the Vikings did them a favor by upsetting Philadelphia.
Meantime, the Packers will host Pittsburgh Sunday in a game that surely will feature a playoff-type atmosphere. That will be especially true if the defending Super Bowl champion Ravens play like it tonight at Detroit.