POD: Green Bay+3.0 (NFL) W

POD: Green Bay+3.0 @ Arizona (3K units) W

Preview: There’s a strong possibility that the Arizona Cardinals could be hosting the Green Bay Packers next week in the playoffs. That adds a layer of intrigue to their matchup in the regular-season finale Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Arizona (10-5) and Green Bay (10-5) have clinched playoff spots, with the defending NFC champion Cardinals winning the West and the Packers earning a wild-card berth. The Cardinals still have an outside chance of earning the No. 2 seed and a bye next weekend.

For that to happen, Arizona needs to beat Green Bay, the Giants must win at Minnesota and Dallas must beat Philadelphia. Since New York and Minnesota are playing early Sunday, the Cardinals will know that result before they take the field and that will affect their approach.
If the Vikings win, a tie between Dallas and Philadelphia would be the only result that could prevent a meeting between Green Bay and Arizona next week.

“I think that we’ll go ahead and plan and prepare like we’re playing Green Bay for a game of significance,” coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “If that changes, at least we’ve gotten a good week of preparation in because there’s a chance we could play a Saturday game (in the playoffs) … and that would be a short week.”

Whisenhunt could replace Kurt Warner(notes) with Matt Leinart(notes), who started Nov. 29 in a loss at Tennessee with Warner held out due to a concussion. Warner is 278 passing yards shy of reaching 4,000 for the fourth time in his career.

Pro Bowl receiver Larry Fitzgerald(notes) needs six catches to reach 100 for the third time and has already posted his fourth 1,000-yard season. Anquan Boldin(notes) is 14 yards shy of his franchise-record fifth 1,000-yard receiving season.

“You would think they could get by with not playing,” Whisenhunt said. “But it’s going to be awful hard to keep Kurt or Larry or Anquan off the field. I’m just telling you that right now up front.”

Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy says the possibility of a rematch next week will not change how he prepares for this contest.

“We’re not going to change the way we approach games, the way we play games, and I’m sure our opponent’s not going to, this week or next week,” McCarthy said. “To me, I think a lot is being made of this, but it’s also part of game-planning.”

McCarthy, though, made that claim while not having anything at stake two years ago when Green Bay had the No. 2 seed wrapped up heading into a finale against Detroit. Seven starters were inactive, including receivers Donald Driver(notes) and Greg Jennings(notes), linebacker Aaron Kampman(notes) and cornerback Charles Woodson(notes) - one of three Packers named to the Pro Bowl on Tuesday.

Joining Woodson on the Pro Bowl roster are safety Nick Collins(notes) earning his second appearance and quarterback Aaron Rodgers(notes) gaining his first.

It’s been a gratifying season for Rodgers in his second full year as the starter after replacing Brett Favre(notes). Rodgers is tied with Favre for third in the league with 29 touchdowns and is the first player in NFL history to throw for 4,000 yards in each of his first two seasons as a starter.

“This reflects team success,” Rodgers said. “Definitely this is something that you hope for but you need to play well as a team. This is a team achievement in my opinion.”

The Packers have scored an NFC-high 213 points since Week 10. Rodgers has 13 touchdowns, two interceptions and three 300-yard efforts in that span.

Green Bay has had trouble protecting Rodgers, who has been sacked a league-high 50 times. The Cardinals are tied with Philadelphia for third in the NFL with 42 sacks, and that could be a reason for Matt Flynn(notes) to see extended action for the Packers.

Arizona, meanwhile, has recorded its first 10-win season since 1976 and last won 11 games the year before. The 1974-75 seasons mark the last time the franchise reached the playoffs in consecutive years.

“The young guys don’t know because it’s their first year or their second year coming in the league,” Pro Bowl defensive tackle Darnell Dockett(notes) said. “But for guys who have been around here playing at Sun Devil Stadium in those terrible uniforms, locked up in a little box locker room, it means a lot to us.”

A playoff meeting would mark the fifth time since 1994 that teams would play in the preseason, regular season and postseason. The Packers won 44-37 on the road Aug. 28 as Rodgers led the first-team offense to 31 points on six first-half possessions.

The Packers have won five of the last six regular-season meetings, winning 31-14 at home Oct. 29, 2006, in the last one.

POD: Green Bay-3.5 (NFL) W

POD: Baltimore @ Green Bay-3.5 (3K units) W

Preview: The Green Bay Packers and Baltimore Ravens are in the thick of the playoff race in their respective conferences. That means both have little room for error in the final month of the season.

Both teams look to continue their recent success when they meet for the first time in four years Monday night at Lambeau Field.

While Green Bay (7-4) currently holds one of the wild-card spots in the NFC, the Ravens (6-5) are in the mix with Denver, Pittsburgh and Jacksonville for the two AFC wild-card berths.
“Our margin of error is going to need to be a lot less than it has been in the first 11 games because it’s December football now,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. “This is the most important football that we’ll play all season.”

Green Bay looks for a fourth straight victory after a 34-12 Thanksgiving Day rout of Detroit, while Baltimore is coming off a 20-17 overtime win over Pittsburgh last Sunday.

Though the Ravens have alternated wins and losses over their last five games, they allowed an average of 11.6 points while going 3-2 in November and their remaining five opponents have a combined .400 winning percentage.

“Our goal right now is just to win the game, no matter what it looks like, or what goes on in between, the first quarter, the fourth quarter,” said Baltimore receiver Mark Clayton(notes), who had seven catches for 129 yards against Pittsburgh.

A victory over a quality opponent in this contest could go a long way for either team. Green Bay is 2-1 all-time versus the Ravens and won the last meeting 48-3 at Baltimore on Dec. 19, 2005.

It’s likely this matchup will be closer, despite the Packers’ recent effort against the lowly Lions.

Aaron Rodgers(notes) was 28 of 39 for 348 yards with a career-high-tying three touchdowns, Donald Driver(notes) caught seven passes for 142 yards with a touchdown and cornerback Charles Woodson(notes) had a sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and two interceptions - one returned for a TD.

While the Packers’ offense has totaled 906 yards and 64 points in their two latest wins over San Francisco and Detroit, their defense is a big reason the club closed November with three straight wins in a 12-day period.

Under coordinator Dom Capers’ 3-4 system, Green Bay allows an NFL-low 281.5 yards per game and has nine takeaways during the three-game winning streak.

“It feels good to be talking about No. 1 and keeping focused and staying focused, and you like to have that rather than, ‘Why is your defense 32nd?”’ linebacker Nick Barnett(notes) said. “But we’ve got to keep things in perspective. Like I say, you’re not No. 1 unless you end the season No. 1, and we know we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us and still got room to grow.”

So may Rodgers on the offensive side of the ball, but he’s completed 70.8 percent of his passes for 881 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions in his last three contests.

Rodgers should face a stiff challenge against Ray Lewis(notes) and a Baltimore defense that hasn’t allowed more than 17 points in any of its last five games.

Baltimore’s five losses have come by a total of 23 points, including three defeats by three points or fewer. Winning a close one over the defending Super Bowl champs last weekend should instill even more confidence.

“We know how to play in a tight game, and winning a tight game against that kind of a team was huge for us,” coach John Harbaugh said.

Baltimore held a Steelers offense without injured quarterback Ben Roethlisberger(notes) to 298 total yards - a season-low 145 passing.

Offensively, budding star Ray Rice(notes) had 88 yards rushing and caught five passes for 67 for his eighth straight game of at least 100 total yards from scrimmage. Since Week 4, Rice has 1,126 scrimmage yards - second-most to Chris Johnson’s 1,233 for Tennessee.

Harbaugh also expects quarterback Joe Flacco’s(notes) nagging sprained ankle to be a little better after having a full week to heal.

“I think Joe’s done a heck of a job fighting through it,” Harbaugh said. “It’s not a major injury but I’m sure it’s bothersome for a quarterback to have that foot a little bit sore.”

Flacco was 23 of 35 for 289 yards and threw his first touchdown in four games last Sunday.