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Green Bay Packers (6-1) at Arizona Cardinals (7-0)
Wow! Now this is a huge game.
The 6-1 Green Bay Packers, who have won six straight, visit the southwest desert to take on the Arizona Cardinals, who are the league’s last remaining undefeated team at 7-0.
Yes, the two hottest teams in the league, with the best record overall (tied with the Rams in the case of the 6-1) Packers, and with the two longest active winning streaks, are set to meet in a game that feels like it has potentially huge playoff ramifications, including potentially which team eventually earns the number one seed and home field advantage, as well as the all-important playoff bye. Prior to this season, the top two teams in each conference would each get that bye week. That was changed so that now, only the top team in each conference gets it. So that makes earning the top seed even more important than it ever was before.
Now, both teams have explosive offenses, led by dynamic, high-profile quarterbacks. For the Cardinals, it is the young Kyler Murray, who is enjoying a tremendous season, possibly a breakout season. He is regularly mentioned as a serious candidate for league MVP, and he leads one of the most explosive and dangerous offenses in the league.
When you look at the Green Bay Packers, you see an offense that will not generally put up as astonishing numbers as the Cardinals. Yet, everyone knows that when veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers gets hot, the Pack can pretty much keep up with anyone on any given Sunday. Rodgers is, of course, a perennial threat to win the league MVP award, and has done so three times in his illustrious career. So while the Packers do not always overwhelm people on a week to week basis with points scored, they clearly usually find a way to win. The Packers have been in the playoffs, and often as NFC North division champions, the vast majority of the seasons since Rodgers took over the starting job in Green Bay.
Now, if this game was going to be played at Lambeau Field, my pick might very well be different. As it is, this game could decide which team hosts a possible playoff meeting, should these two teams meet again in January. That is hardly unthinkable, given the very impressive record and level of play that both teams have earned to this point this season.
These two teams have both played some phenomenal football. They both can score points when they need to, and they both almost always find ways to win. One thing that the Packers have going for them would be experience. This is a team that knows all about these kinds of big showdowns, because they have ranked among the elites for a number of seasons now. The Packers have been one of the top two seeds in the NFC for the past couple of seasons, and managed to reach the NFC title game two years in a row. So far, they look ready to reach it a third time in a row, as well, and would love to have that game played in the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field in January, which could be a decisive advantage.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals appear to have the more explosive offense, overall. Also, their defense seems to be a little bit better than the Packers defense, as well. They are in a tougher division than Green Bay, with not one but two teams that recently qualified for the Super Bowl. The Rams are one of those teams, and they have been very impressive thus far at 6-1. But that one loss was a blowout loss at home to these Cardinals. Arizona has shown the ability to win games no matter what, whether it is in an offensive shootout, or in some much more physical, defensive, low-scoring games.
Both teams clearly have plenty of incentive to win, but only one team can obviously emerge victorious. This is such a huge game, and frankly, it would not be surprising to see either of these teams suddenly turn it on enough to pull off the win. But my task in these blog entries is to make a prediction.
So, here goes.
My pick: Arizona
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