1/14/2008
On To The NFC Championship
One game away. That's how far the Green Bay Packers are from reaching their first Super Bowl in 10 years and their fifth in franchise history after a resounding 42-20 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in an NFC Divisional playoff game on a snow-filled Saturday that seemed to define January football at Lambeau Field. With two-thirds of the NFL's youngest roster playing in its first postseason contest, the Packers showed a level of maturity and level-headedness that belied their youth, rallying from an early 14-0 deficit to absolutely dominate the NFC West champions in front of 72,168 rabid fans, the largest crowd in Lambeau's history. After a record-setting day -- the team established postseason marks for points and rushing yards (234), while Ryan Grant's 201 yards and three touchdowns on the ground also became new playoff standards -- the Packers (14-3) now advance to next Sunday's NFC Championship. They'll either host the New York Giants or travel to Dallas to take on the Cowboys, depending on the outcome of the other NFC Divisional game, in the franchise's biggest game in a decade. [More]
Grant Recovers
Runs Into Record Books
One of the critical factors in Ryan Grant's ability to run the football with such success this season has been his determination to always keep his head up. Doing so has allowed him to see the whole field, find the cutback lanes, and get to where he needs to go. On Saturday, Grant had the all-time best playoff rushing performance in Packers history and to no surprise it had a great deal to do with his penchant for keeping his head up. Only this time it was different. Grant had fumbled the football twice in the first minute and three seconds. Though that wasn't the way he or his teammates envisioned starting the game, Grant had two options. He could (A) go into a shell and let the turnovers slow him down the rest of the game, or (B) act as if it didn't happen and move on to helping his team advance to the NFC Championship game. Two hundred one yards and three touchdowns later, it's obvious Grant chose option B. Not only did he bounce back from the two turnovers that led to a quick 14-0 lead for the Seahawks, he set a franchise record for rushing yards and touchdowns in the playoffs, surpassing the marks of Ahman Green (156 yards at Philadelphia, Jan. 11, 2004) and three other backs (Elijah Pitts, Travis Williams and Edgar Bennett, along with Green) who had scored twice in a postseason contest. [More] Bigby's Big hit
helps reel in Seahawks
The thermometer read 31 degrees at game time Saturday and the snow kept falling harder and harder until it finally blanketed Lambeau Field and made for near-white out conditions. But as far as Green Bay Packers rookie safety Atari Bigby was concerned, it was ideal fishing weather. And with the game tied 14-14, Bigby decided it was time to cast his rod. On the first play of the second quarter, facing a second-and-19 from his own 15-yard line, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck floated a pass to tight end Marcus Pollard in the right flat. Bigby charged forward at full speed, and his helmet landed flush on the football, which quickly ended up in Pro Bowl defensive end Aaron Kampman's lap at the Seahawks' 18. "I just saw the guy, he was about to throw him the ball and I ran and gave him all I had," Bigby said. "You know what, it's fun to hit a guy hard. It is fun. I get paid to hit guys real hard, to knock people out. That's great." [More]
Published by PackerPundit On Monday, January 14, 2008 at 5:57 AM.
0 Responses to “1/14/2008”
Post a Comment