By Roberto Ruiz
Games in the NFL aren’t supposed to be this easy. One week after spanking hated rival Chicago at Lambeau, the Green Bay Packers welcomed fellow NFC frontrunner the Philadelphia Eagles to the dairy state with another beat down. The game that fans were calling a “measuring stick game” ended up being a laugher. Aaron Rodgers passed for 341 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in what was the prototypical Rodgers performance. Every throw was on target, every defensive alignment read to perfection.
Green Bay dominated the game in every facet, a surprising fact considering the Eagles have one of the strongest offenses in the league, and their defense is nothing to sneeze at after it had 9 sacks last week against the Carolina Panthers. Lesean McCoy was held to 88 yards and no touchdowns on 23 carries, showing that last weeks Clay Mathews experiment at inside linebacker was no fluke. The Eagles had one of the leagues strongest running teams coming into this game.
Running back Eddie Lacy had his second straight 100 all-purpose yard game after rumbling into the end zone for a 32 yard score after breaking several tackles. Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb both went for over 100 yards receiving. Casey Hayword and Julius Peppers each returned a turnover for a touchdown, and Micah Hyde returned a punt for seven points as well.
So who can beat the Packers at Lambeau field? 5-0 so far this season, the Packers have put on a clinic every home game. The victory pulled the Packers into a tie for second place in the NFC, sitting behind an Arizona Cardinals team that just lost its captain and quarterback Carson Palmer. If the Packers are able to jump the 9-1 Cardinals and guarantee home field advantage throughout the playoffs, would this team be Super Bowl bound? They would certainly seem to have the best odds.
Rodgers has quietly put together an MVP caliber season while guiding a team that many had seemingly forgotten after week 3 in the season when the Packers sat at 1-2 with losses to Seattle and Detroit. Rodgers has nearly matched the numbers from his 2012 season, 2,748 yards, 28 touchdowns against only three interceptions, and a 120.1 passer rating. Andrew Luck, quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts, has put together a pretty solid season and garnered early MVP consideration, but a blowout against the Patriots this week will likely not sit well with voters.