GREEN BAY, Wis. For all that Aaron Rodgers has accomplished in his Hall of Fame career, there is one thing he has never done before: to play in an NFC Championship game at Lambeau Field.
Come back next Sunday to see how he looks on his list. Rodgers and the top-seeded Green Bay Packers (14-3) will play for a place to sleep in the Super Bowl against the New Orleans Saints or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
And the Pack will do so on their own lawn thanks to Saturday’s 32-18 victory over the Los Angeles Rams at Lambeau, where fans – 8,456 of them – were allowed the entire season for the first time.
This will be Rodgers’ fifth appearance in the conference title race. His previous four all got in the way. He won his first one – during the 2010 season at Soldier Field – on his way to his lonely Super Bowl. He has since lost three, including last season on the San Francisco 49ers on a standout.
That was after last season’s defeat when Rodgers repeated a famous refrain and said, “We need to get one of these home.”
Rodgers took care of that early and regularly against the Rams (11-7), who had the NFL’s best defense in the regular season (18.1 points per game). The Packers improved that in the first half with a 19-10 lead at halftime. They became the first team this season to pass on the Rams on each of its first three slides. It was also the fourth consecutive game the Packers’ top attack on each of their first three slides.
Rodgers throws a 1-yard pass to Davante Adams, who sends Jams Ramsey, the corner of the Rams, into a heated exchange with Nick Scott. Rodgers also passed for an attack in the first half, giving him the third time in his same playoff game for the third time in his career. But that was his first rushing score after the season since the 2010 NFC title game in Chicago.
That was just the beginning.
When Aaron Jones ripped off a 60-year run in the opening quarter of the third quarter to set up his own 1-yard run, it meant the Packers passed each of their first five slides for the first time since Week has. 3 of the 2016 season.
Saturday was the 22nd time in NFL playoff history that the No. 1 offense and the No. 1 defense were up against each other. The Packers’ 32 points were the fourth most in those games, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Rodgers let the game kneel away for an MVP chant from the crowd.
He completed 23 of 36 passes for 296 yards and two touchdowns. His 58-yard pass to Allen Lazard in the fourth quarter was his longest pass in his national career.
Rodgers took advantage of the best chasing performance – 189 meters – that his team still gave him in a playoff game. The previous highlight was 147 yards in the division playoff game in 2011 against the New York Giants. But it was a loss in the only other time the Packers were ever ranked number one among Rodgers.
That match denied him an NFC title match at home.
Ten years later, Rodgers would not be denied.