There wasn’t much focus on Green Bay’s offensive line in preparation for the Packers’ divisional playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday. The attention was understandably elsewhere: Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers is a leading contender for the NFL Most Valuable Player Award, and the Rams had the league’s leading defensive unit with the dominant defensive tackle Aaron Donald.
But hampered by a rib injury, Donald was frequently sidelined on Saturday and would only tackle in the game. While Rodgers had another patient and skillful post-season performance that included two touchdown passes, it was Green Bay’s attack – driven by the authoritarian impulse of their offensive line – that paved the way for a steady 32-18 victory.
“They were the stars of the game tonight,” Rodgers said of his line-up strikers. “They dominated.”
The Packers, who ran 188 yards and recorded a total of 484 yards, advance to the NFC championship game next weekend at Green Bay’s Lambeau Field against the winner of Sunday’s game between Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints. It will be Rodgers’ fifth appearance in the game for the NFC title, but the first at home in Green Bay.
Saturday was the first time this season that the Packers hosted spectators for a home game and some 8,500 fans, including families of staff, met at Lambeau Field. Rodgers said he expected an even bigger crowd next weekend.
“It was a joy to see them,” said Rodgers of the Packers’ faithful. Looking forward to his return to the first NFC championship game in Green Bay since 2008, Rodgers added: “It means a lot. It thrilled me with the crowd outside today. “
Green Bay running back Aaron Jones had 99 runs on 14 loads, including a 60-yard backbreaking on the Packers’ first play in the second half. When Jones ended the Packers’ possession with a 1-yard touchdown race, he stopped a brief rally that the Rams had set up in the second quarter.
The Packers had taken a 19-10 lead in the first half on two Mason Crosby field goals, a nifty 1-yard touch by Rodgers and a Rodgers 1-yard pass that completed 23 of 36 passes for 296 yards to Wide receiver Davante Adams, who took nine passes for 66 yards.
Los Angeles met to race in the third quarter at the Packers. Rams quarterback Jared Goff, who completed 21 of 27 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown, seemed out of sync at that point. Perhaps it is because he was without one of his main receiving targets, Cooper Kupp, who lost the game due to a knee injury. But to start the second half, Goff completed six consecutive passes for 51 yards.
The Rams then returned to the hasty attack, and in a first and goal from the Packers’ 7-yard line, the running back Cam Akers took a direct snap and fired into the end zone. The Packers lead was reduced to seven points.
But Jones and Rodgers were not deterred.
After hitting the middle of the Rams defensive line with running runs for much of the ball possession, Rodgers listened on the scrimmage line in a second down to call a deep pass to wide receiver Allen Lazard. Rodgers started the game with a false backfield action and then hit the target with Lazard, who split two defenders and picked up a perfectly placed ball for a 58-yard touchdown.
The score put the Packers ahead by 32-18, with less than seven minutes left. The Rams did not cross the Green Bay 47-yard line in the final minutes of the game.