According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this is the first year of conference championship games in which all four quarterbacks have at least 200 career passing touchdowns or 30,000 pass yards in the regular season. Their combined regular-season numbers fall short of only one conference championship foursome -- last year’s group of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Carson Palmer and Cam Newton.
Sunday's NFC Championship matchup features two quarterbacks riding some hot streaks, each who have taken the NFL by storm in some uniquely different ways.
During his eight-game winning streak, Aaron Rodgers has been flammable for the Green Bay Packers, completing 68.9 percent of his passes for 298.1 passing yards per game. He has thrown 21 touchdowns to just one interception in that span, with a total QBR of 83.9.
And those wins haven't come against slouches, either. Four of the eight defenses he's faced finished in the top 10 in points per game allowed, and another three were top-15 -- including the Houston Texans, who led the NFL in total defense. The Atlanta Falcons, meanwhile, allowed 25.4 points per game this season, 27th in the NFL, but beat the Packers 33-32 in Week 8 despite Rodgers throwing four touchdowns.
If the Falcons hope to contain Rodgers this time around, they’ll need to prevent falling victim to some of his greatest tricks.
Passing outside the pocket: Some of Rodgers' finest work this season has come when flushed out of the pocket.
Rodgers was 7-of-9 last Sunday outside the pocket, including a clutch throw to Jared Cook that set up the game-winning field goal. Rodgers had 13 passing touchdowns from outside the pocket in the regular season, tied with Jameis Winston for most in the NFL. Three of those scores came in Week 8 against the Falcons.
Creating free plays: If a defense is slow to sub, Rodgers will likely spot it and attempt to snap the ball before players can leave the field. He extended a go-ahead touchdown drive against the Falcons by doing so in Week 8.
Rodgers will also use a hard count to draw opponents offside. No quarterback has been better at utilizing either strategy than Rodgers since 2008.
When Rodgers draws these penalties, he takes advantage of the situation. He has 31 completions and 14 touchdowns on “free plays” from offside or 12-men-on-the-field penalties since 2008. Nobody else has more than four touchdowns on such plays in that time.
Exploiting the tight end: The Packers have lacked a reliable tight end in the passing game in recent years, but signed Cook this offseason. Cook made the clutch catch on Rodgers’ deep pass to set up the game-winning field goal Sunday, but his overall presence on field has been a boon for the Packers' passing attack. Cook missed six games and returned to the lineup in Week 11 this season, coinciding with Rodgers’ hot streak:
With Jordy Nelson's status once again in limbo this week, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Cook play a big role in the Packers' game plan again Sunday. The Packers have reached the NFC Championship each year they’ve received quality production from tight ends in the postseason.
Can the Pack defense disrupt the pocket?: The Packers generated pressure on only five of Ryan’s 35 dropbacks from the pocket in Week 8. Ryan was 26-of-33 (78.8 percent) from the pocket in the game, and has been the best pocket passer in the NFL this season, especially when avoiding pressure.
In Week 8, Ryan averaged only 2.19 seconds in the pocket on passes, the third-fastest time against the Packers this season.
More than just Julio: Julio Jones was second in the NFL in receiving this season with 1,409 yards, and while his big-play ability can’t be ignored, neither can the rest of the Falcons. Ryan has thrown a passing touchdown to 13 different receivers this season -- an NFL record, according to Elias. All of Ryan’s top targets have been effective catching passes this season.
Ryan has completed at least 65 percent of his attempts to all but two receivers this season: Joshua Perkins (3-of-5) and Terron Ward (1-of-2). In Week 8, Ryan completed only 3-of-5 passes to Jones, including 0-of-1 passing in the second half. He completed 21-of-24 with three touchdowns to Mohamed Sanu, Devonta Freeman, Taylor Gabriel and tight end Austin Hooper in the game.
Lethal with the deep ball: Ryan was one of just three quarterbacks to complete half of his attempts thrown 20 or more yards downfield this season, going 30-of-60 on such passes. Only Andrew Luck (50.8) and Russell Wilson (50.7) had higher percentages.
Ryan was not only effective finding his targets on deep throws, but also in keeping the ball out of opponents' hands. He had 10 touchdowns and no interceptions on those 60 attempts, and had no picks on his three such attempts in Saturday's win over the Seattle Seahawks. The next most attempts without an interception on those passes? Seventeen.
In Week 8, Ryan attempted only two passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. He completed one of the two, a 47-yard touchdown to Gabriel thrown 46 yards in the air.
