About six weeks ago, the Packers went into Dallas and held players like Charles Woodson and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila out of the lineup because of injuries. Both players, had it been playoff time, could probably have played through those injuries. At the time, the loss to the Cowboys appeared to cost the Packers home field throughout the NFC playoffs.
Yesterday, the Cowboys turned around and lost to the New York Giants, which again put the Packers back in the drivers seat, as the host of the NFC Championship game. It's making Mike McCarthy's decision to hold injured players out look even better.
Ryan Grant, who rushed for 201 yards and three touchdowns against the Seahawks, now gets the chance to go against his old team, the New York Giants.
But as well as the Packers played against Seattle on Sunday, don't expect the Giants to be as big a pushover.
The Giants have won 9-straight road games and Eli Manning has avoided turnovers in the last two games. The Giants are already 7-point underdogs and that's just where they like it.
The way Dallas ended up playing, I would have liked the Packers chances better had they faced the Cowboys in the NFC Championship, and not New York.
I believe the Packers will win, but the cold weather in the forecast should neutralize things a little bit, make the ground games more important, and unlike the Green Bay/Seattle game, make this contest one worth watching until the end.
Listen / Download – Mike McCarthy on having his gamble pay off. :23
