6:40 pm
January 12

Seahawks @ Packers

Who will WIN this matchup?

Seattle Seahawks (11-5)

@ Green Bay Packers (13-3)

 

Current odds:

Seattle Seahawks: (+175)

Green Bay Packers: (-200)

 

The line for this game is Packers by 4.5 points.

The Green Bay Packers and the visiting Seattle Seahawks are in line to put their best foot forward when the teams meet in the NFC divisional round of the playoffs on Sunday. The Packers boast an NFL best-tying seven wins at home this season while the Seahawks sport an 8-1 record on the road — postseason included — although they have lost their past eight visits to Lambeau Field.  Russell Wilson continued his success on the road last week, throwing for 325 yards and a touchdown and adding a team-high 45 on the ground to lead fifth-seeded Seattle to a 17-9 victory over NFC East champion Philadelphia. The Seahawks have never won multiple road games in a single postseason and lost on two occasions in the playoffs in Green Bay (2004, 2008), but Wilson tossed the game-winning touchdown pass in overtime against the Packers in the 2014 NFC Championship Game.

Fellow Pro Bowl quarterback Aaron Rodgers is nearly 10 years removed from his lone Super Bowl title, but the 36-year-old has Green Bay poised to make another run after guiding the club to a 13-win season and an NFC North title. “It’s on my mind every day,” Rodgers said of a return to glory. “That’s why we play the game. That’s why you put in the time in the offseason, that’s why you do the little things. It’s to put yourself in this position, where we’re two games away from being able to compete for that.”

With respect to Wilson, the talk of the night last Sunday was DK Metcalf, as the second-round wideout set an NFL postseason rookie record with 160 yards receiving on seven catches — including a 53-yard touchdown in the third quarter. “It was fun and it was scary at the same time. The way the season’s been going, this team, you know I didn’t want this to be our last time playing football,” the 22-year-old Metcalf said. Marshawn Lynch has found the end zone in back-to-back games since returning from retirement, and the bruising back left an impression on the Packers in his last postseason appearance — amassing 183 scrimmage yards (157 rushing, 26 receiving) and a touchdown. Lynch has 10 rushing touchdowns in 12 playoffs games and faces a Green Bay rush defense that surrendered 119.9 yards on the ground per contest this season.

Green Bay’s offense features a different look than in recent years, with Aaron Jones taking the proverbial ball and running with it as the Packers have emphasized a running game in spite of Rodgers throwing for 26 touchdowns against only four interceptions. Jones tied for a league-best rushing touchdowns (16, Tennessee’s Derrick Henry) and scrimmage scores (19, Carolina’s Christian McCaffrey) and joined both backs in recording at least six games with two or more touchdowns. Davante Adams missed a 1,000-yard season by nine feet this season, but the electric wideout leads the NFL with 40 receiving touchdowns since 2016. On the other side of the ball, Za’Darius Smith recorded a career-high 13 sacks and fellow linebacker Blake Martinez finished second in the league with 155 tackles.

Green Bay TE Jimmy Graham, who played with Seattle for three seasons (2015-17), had just 38 receptions in 2019 to mark his lowest total since his rookie year in 2010.

Seattle’s Bobby Wagner led the NFL with 159 tackles while fellow LB K.J. Wright had a career-high 132.

Packers Pro Bowl RT Bryan Bulaga was a full participant in practice this week after sitting out the season finale with a concussion.

5/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Green Bay Packers