Packers are the best team in the NFC, and it’s not close

The Green Bay Packers cruised past the Los Angeles Rams today in the latest demonstration that they are the top team in the NFC.

They may not be the No. 1 seed in the NFC but there isn’t a team in the conference that is better than the Green Bay Packers. Aaron Rodgers and company took care of business in the game of the weekend, cruising to a 36-28 victory over the Los Angeles Rams to dispatch another threat with ease.

The Rams managed to slow down the Packers’ prolific rushing attack despite the return of Aaron Jones from injury but Rodgers was more than up to the challenge against Los Angeles’ strong secondary. Rodgers completed 28-of-45 passes for 307 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, an excellent performance since he has been battling a broken toe for the past several weeks.

Green Bay’s defense also stepped up in a big way by forcing three key turnovers, with the backbreaker being a pick-six from Rasul Douglas that pushed the Packers’ lead to 36-17. The final score wasn’t truly indicative of how lopsided this game was as the Rams struggled to keep up with Green Bay all afternoon.

The Packers are the NFC’s undisputed top dog

By record, the Arizona Cardinals are still the NFC’s top seed at 9-2, but the Packers went to Glendale and beat them on a Thursday to set themselves up with a key tiebreaker, which could lead to home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Having Rodgers under center is also a huge advantage for Green Bay since he is more battle-tested in the postseason than any NFC quarterback outside of Tom Brady.

Speaking of Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who knocked the Packers out of the playoffs a year ago, their defense isn’t anywhere near the level it was when Tampa Bay won the Super Bowl. Injuries have ravaged the Buccaneers’ secondary, which could be problematic for a matchup against Rodgers in late January.

When you consider the fact that Arizona and Los Angeles lost to the Packers while Dallas is heading in the wrong direction it is fairly obvious that Green Bay is the NFC’s favorite. It will be up to the Packers to ensure that they actually get to the Super Bowl this time, no small step after falling one game shy two years in a row.