The Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers meet in the playoffs yet again on Sunday afternoon, this time with a date against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship on the line.
Seattle has not had a ton of success at Lambeau Field, but they are 8-1 on the road this season and are starting to round into form health-wise.
Meanwhile, Green Bay has a well-rounded squad that should cause problems for Seattle on both offense and defense.
For the Seahawks to pull off the win and advance to the NFC Championship for the first time since 2014, they’ll need to prove they can win this game in the trenches.
That and more are covered in my three things to watch for this exciting afternoon bout between two of the best in the NFC.
How does Seattle protect Russell Wilson?
The Seattle Seahawks starting offensive line hasn’t proven to be very good at keeping Russell Wilson protected in the pocket, and the team could be without key members of that unit on Sunday.
Duane Brown (knee) and George Fant (groin) are both listed as questionable, while Mike Iupati (neck) is doubtful.
With Justin Britt and Ethan Pocic already out for the season, this team is heavily reliant on what could be a trio of backups against a formidable pass rushing attack from Green Bay.
Brown indicated to Josina Anderson of ESPN he believes he will play, which would give Seattle perhaps their best pass blocker, but there’s no doubt that giving Wilson time to throw the ball will be the biggest key to victory for Seattle on Sunday afternoon.
Can Seattle’s pass rush step up again?
The Seahawks managed a season-high seven sacks against Carson Wentz, Josh McCown and the Philadelphia Eagles last week, stepping up at a critical time after being absent for the majority of the year.
The Eagles had a banged up offensive line and a 40-year-old backup quarterback however, and trying to get through Green Bay’s offensive line and a surprisingly evasive Aaron Rodgers will be a different story entirely.
Jadeveon Clowney is 100 percent healthy and ready to go, but both Ziggy Ansah (neck) and Quinton Jefferson (ankle) are questionable, potentially leaving Seattle without two of their key edge rushers.
Rasheem Green, Shaquem Griffin and possibly even rookie L.J. Collier and veteran Dekoda Watson could be counted on to try to get some pressure on Rodgers, but really it will be down to Clowney to flush the veteran quarterback out of the pocket.
If they are unable to do so, an undisturbed Rodgers could make this a long afternoon for Seattle.
How will Seattle defend Davante Adams?
The Seahawks best hope of stopping Green Bay is by getting to Aaron Rodgers early and often.
Otherwise, he’ll have time to spread the ball around and, in conjunction with a strong running game, they’ll be very difficult to stop.
The player outside of the two Aarons (Jones and Rodgers) most likely to cause problems on Green Bay’s offense is receiver Davante Adams.
Health concerns limited Adams to just 12 game this year, but he still finished with 83 receptions and 997 yards, lining up a bunch out of the slot and on the left side.
Seattle hasn’t shifted Shaquill Griffin off the right side much this year, which likely means Adams will be covered by either Tre Flowers or Ugo Amadi, if Seattle is in nickel package.
If they remain in base, Adams could be marked by K.J. Wright or Cody Barton, which would be less than ideal for the Seahawks.
Adams is an elite pass catcher with speed to burn, and could be a nightmare matchup for the Seahawks depending how they line up across from him.
The action starts at Lambeau Field at 3:40 p.m. PT.
