Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals Odds

The 11-5 Green Bay Packers, who secured the NFC’s first wild card slot, will take on the 10-6 NFC West champion Arizona Cardinals Sunday afternoon in a rematch of last week’s game. These teams just met last Sunday with the Packers crushing the defending NFC champs 33-7. The win was the sixth for Green Bay in the last seven meetings against Arizona. NFL odds makers have listed the Green Bay Packers as a 1-point favorite with the total set at 47.

This time of year it’s all about strategy, and we are about to see which strategy will pay off. Arizona knew that it had no chance for a first round bye prior to kickoff last week so head coach Ken Whisenhunt decided to rest his players. Starting QB Kurt Warner only played two series before being replaced by Matt Leinart.

Meanwhile, Green Bay decided to stick with QB Aaron Rodgers and most of the starters through three quarters, perhaps not wanting to lose the momentum created by an NFC-best 7-1 second half of the season mark.

Rodgers has quickly emerged as one of the best signal callers in the NFL. Last week, he completed 21 of 26 passes for 235 yards to finish fourth in the NFL with 4,434 passing yards. Rodgers is the first quarterback in NFL history to eclipse 4,000 yards passing in each of his first two seasons. Rodgers noted that it will not be as easy to shred the Arizona secondary this week, saying they used a pretty vanilla scheme. That was no doubt another one of Whisenhunt’s strategies. It is worth noting that the Packers are 20-7-1 ATS in their last 28 road games.

Arizona will be happy to see Kurt Warner out on the field for an entire game this week. Few quarterbacks are as decorated in the postseason as Warner, who is 8-3 lifetime in the playoffs. Warner was incredible during last year’s run to the Super Bowl, throwing 11 touchdown strikes against only three interceptions.

Warner will be hoping that go-to wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald can get loose early and often. Fitzgerald followed up last year’s 1,431-yard season with a 1,092-yard campaign. Like Warner, Fitzgerald was truly amazing in last year’s playoffs, catching seven touchdown passes and averaging 136.5 yards per game. It will be up to Charles Woodson, who’s battling a shoulder injury, to slow down Fitzgerald.

The Cardinals remain confident that last season’s postseason run gives them the edge in terms of experience against the NFL youngest team. It is worth noting that the Cardinals are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 playoff games.