Packers crush Falcons; advance to NFC Championship Game

By OnMilwaukee Staff Writers Published Jan 15, 2011 at 11:20 PM

Dominating. Simply dominating. There is no other word to adequetly describe what transpired Saturday night in Atlanta.

After gift-wrapping 14 points for the Falcons with a bad turnover and blown coverage on Eric Weems' 102-yard kickoff return, the Packers spent the next three quaters very closely resembling the team many predicted to advance to Super Bowl XLV in Dallas next month with a 48-21 manhandling of the Falcons Saturday night in Atlanta.

Green Bay seemed doomed when James Starks fumbled the ball out-of-bounds at the eight-yard-line on the kickoff following Weems' touchdown, but Aaron Rodgers led the Packers on a 10-play, 92-yard drive that tied the game at 14 on John Kuhn's one-yard touchdown plunge.

"To go 90-plus yards and score like we did probably wore their defense down," Rodgers said. "They were out on the field a long time."

Rodgers was brilliant, completing 31 of 36 passes for 366 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He was sacked just twice and left the game in the fouth quarter with a 136.8 passer rating.

"I just got into a rhythm not only throwing the football but moving around in the pocket," Rodgers said. "We kind of were able to do what we wanted to do. We attacked the middle of the field early and when they took that away, we worked the outside.

"We didn't have to punt today. It was a special day."

Turning point: It would be hard to find a more pivotal play than Tramon Williams' 70-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the first half. The Packers had just taken a 21-14 lead and the Falcons were trying to give kicker Matt Bryant a little more breathing room when Ryan tryed forcing a pass to this left. Williams' score put the Packers up by two scores and completely changed the game's momentum in Green Bay's favor.

Passed over for a spot on the NFC Pro Bowl team after finishing second in the conference with six regular-season interceptions, Williams now has three in the Packers' two postseason games.

Redemption: James Jones felt awful all week after dropping what would have been a 63-yard touchdown pass against the Eagles. He sent Rodgers a text message during the week expressing his apologies but Rodgers assured the fourth-year wideout that the ball would still come his way.

"He was the sickest person in that locker room after the last game but I have a lot of confidence in him," Rodgers said.

Rodgers kept his word and Jones held up his end, hauling in four passes for 75 yards including a 20-yard touchdown to make it 21-14 with 42 seconds left in the first half.

Starks starts: A week after generating a buzz with a franchise postseason record 129-yard performance, rookie running back James Starks made his first postseason start and carried 25 times for 66 yards. As a team, the Packers gained 96 yards on the ground.

Season highs: During the regular season, the Falcons were the second-least-penalized team in the NFC, drawing just 116 flags. Saturday, Atlanta was penalized six times -- tying a season high -- for 65 yards. Atlanta turned the ball the ball less than any other team in the league but fumbled three times and threw for two interceptions.

The waiting game: The Packers now will sit back and wait to see which team wins tomorrow when Chicago hosts Seattle at 11:30 a.m. Regardless of the outcome, the Packers will play for the NFC Championship on the road.

Notes: Packers have won four consecutive "eliminaton games" dating back to Week 16 of the regular season ... Rodgers has an NFL-record 10 touchdown passes his first three career playoff games ... Matt Ryan has yet to win a postseason game ... Packers will appear in NFC Championship for fifth time since merger (2-2) and became just the second No. 6 seed to defeat No. 1 seed since playoff format changed in 1990 ... A victory Sunday would send the Packers to their first Super Bowl since the 1997 season.

Complete 2011 NFL postseason results / schedule

Saturday, Jan. 8