Record: Packers 9-3.
Sunday's result: def. New England Patriots 26-21.
The skinny: After struggling early in the season, Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers told the rabid fans to "R-E-L-A-X." Now, he looks like a football prophet. The Packers have won eight of the past nine games and scored more than 50 points in back-to-back victories against Chicago and Philadelphia and took care of the top AFC team at Lambeau Field on Sunday to tie Arizona and Philadelphia for the best record in the NFC.
Series history: The Packers lead 14-12. The Packers won the previous meeting 22-21 on Dec. 8, 2013 with Matt Flynn starting at quarterback. The Packers also own a 2-1 lead in meetings in the playoffs.
State of the union: All is well with Packer Nation. Rodgers is in control. Coach Mike McCarthy recently signed a contract extension and the defense is creating turnovers. They are gearing up for another Super Bowl run. Here's how Bob McGinn, the legendary beat writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, sized up the NFC race before the New England victory: "Before Thanksgiving night, it was becoming more and more apparent that the Green Bay Packers deserved to be the favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Then Seattle unleashed such an overwhelming beatdown of San Francisco at Levi's Stadium that the playoff picture in the NFC suddenly wasn't clear at all. … The Packers have won seven of their last eight games, including four at home in ridiculously easy fashion. They lead the NFL in turnover differential at plus-15 (the Patriots are second at plus-11), and when McCarthy's teams get in that mode they're hard to beat. … Division standings and keeping up with the Cardinals certainly are important. Of the contenders, the Lions appear to have the easiest remaining schedule, at least on paper, and Arizona's Bruce Arians is right there with Kansas City's Andy Reid and Philadelphia's Chip Kelly as the league's finest coaches over the last year and a half. But the overriding objective for the Packers … should be staying ahead of the Seahawks in the fight for home-field advantage. Seattle is the one team the Packers wouldn't want to see in the NFC playoffs."
Three things: 1) McCarthy is in his ninth season as head coach. He has guided the Packers to six playoff appearances, four division titles, an NFC championship and a Super Bowl title. He has recorded 96 wins overall to rank third in franchise history behind Curly Lambeau (212) and Vince Lombardi (98); 2) What will Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers do to the Falcons' secondary which entered Week 12 as the worst in the league; 3) Clay Matthews Jr. is fully recovered from his groin injury that slowed him against Minnesota. He has played inside linebacker on running downs and moved back outside in passing situations. He was selected with the 26th pick of the 2009 draft, two picks after the Falcons selected defensive tackle Peria Jerry.
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