As far as records go in the NFC, it is wide open. The Arizona Cardinals sit at the top with a record of 11-3, the Green Bay Packers are sitting at 10-3, and the Philadelphia Eagles; Dallas Cowboys; Detroit Lions; and Seattle Seahawks all sit at 9-4. However, when watching the games it is clearly going to come down to just two of those teams and if either one of them can secure home field advantage throughout, the advantage will swing in their favor.
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers have been on an incredible streak lately. The Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers is currently playing better than any other quarterback in the league and it’s not even close. Rodgers currently has the highest PFF grade out of all quarterbacks in the NFL with a grade of 38.6. The next closest has a grade of 28.9. Aaron Rodgers is the constant on the Packers but what makes them different this season is their pass blocking and run game.
The Packers have the highest pass blocking grade in the entire league so far this season. What makes them effective is their interior linemen specifically. With exceptional blocking on the inside of their line it prevents pressure up the middle, which is the hardest pressure to avoid for a quarterback. Their guards, Josh Sitton and T.J. Lang, are ranked first and sixth respectively by PFF in pass blocking. Their center, Corey Linsley, has the eighth best PFF pass blocking grade out of all centers. With pass protection like that it’s no wonder Rodgers is having the year he’s having.
The other part of their offense that makes them different than previous Packers teams is having Eddie Lacy in the run game. Lacy has the fourth best PFF grade out of all running backs. He has run for 843 yards on 188 attempts with seven rushing touchdowns. He’s a power back that can also catch out of the backfield so he forces defenses to account for him in both the run game as passing game. Lacy is extremely hard to bring down so defenders know that if he gets the ball they’ll need more than just one defender to bring him down. This allows the Packers to use play action much more effectively than they have in the past.
The major weakness of the Packers is the same as it has been for years: their defense. The Packers rank 26th in total defense, 20th in passing yards per game, 25th in rushing yards per game, 18th in points per game, and according to PFF they rank 19th in total defense. So far this season this hasn’t been much of a problem for them since they’ve only lost three games but when you get to the playoffs the defenses are typically better than the ones teams see on a week to week basis. The Packers might not be able to rely on winning shoot outs with teams.
Seattle Seahawks
The one true team to beat in the NFC is the Seattle Seahawks. They are the defending champions and are playing as such right now. Out of all the teams mentioned before the Seahawks have a win over the Eagles, Packers, and Cardinals. They lost to the Cowboys in Seattle but both teams are playing completely different at this point of the season. In their last three games they’ve outscored their opponents (Eagles, 49ers, and Cardinals) by a combined 62-20. Right now their poised to steal the NFC West and possibly home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
What makes this team special is their defense. Their secondary is the best in the league boasting the best safety tandem, Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas, and arguably the best cornerback in the league in Richard Sherman. Not only is it nearly impossible to pass on this secondary, their run support is second to none. Their pass rush covers up any deficiencies this secondary might have. They have a multitude of defensive linemen capable of generating a pass rush and they rotate them all in to keep everyone fresh. According to PFF they have the tenth best pass rush in the league. Couple that with the best secondary in the league and it can be extremely dangerous. The solution is simple then, right? Just run the ball. Wrong. They are very stingy against the run as well. They have one of the fastest linebacking corps in the league, led by Bobby Wagner.
Where the Packers are strongest the Seahawks are weakest. The Seahawks offense is extremely vanilla, especially since they traded wide receiver Percy Harvin. They don’t have a single wide receiver that scares opposing defenses. Their passing game is a lot of broken plays turned into big plays by their quarterback Russell Wilson. Wilson is special because he is so elusive and smart. He will break out of the pocket to avoid a potential sack but won’t just tuck the ball and run.
He keeps his eyes downfield and will find the open man when things start to break down. That’s not what makes their offense tick though. Their offense is predicated on lining up and running the ball down your throat with Marshawn Lynch. The Seahawks have the best PFF run grade and Lynch himself has the third best overall PFF grade out of all running backs and the third best run grade. He is, without a doubt, the hardest running back in the league to bring down. Lynch leads all running backs with 68 forced missed tackles. The closest running back to him is DeMarco Murray with 58 forced missed tackles on 85 more rushing attempts.
The NFC Championship is either going to have to go through Green Bay or Seattle. These are the two teams to beat in the NFC and if it comes down to these teams playing each other, Seattle will win that one and it won’t matter where the game is played. Green Bay’s style is tailor made for the Seahawks.