First half synopsis pretty much said it all.
For Green Bay, it’s been a half of miscues.
The missed field goal by Mason Crosby. The fumble by Aaron Ripkowski. The nearly complete inability by the Packers defense to have any answer whatsoever to the Falcons offense.
Meantime, on the other side, the 22-for-32, 271-yard, 2 touchdown passing performance from Matt Ryan -- in just the first half -- are the kind of numbers many quarterbacks would give their right arm for in an entire game.Ryan tacked on a rushing score for good measure while throwing completions to eight different receivers.
Turned out to be much of the same in the second half. The Falcons just have too many weapons against a depleted defensive alignment that just gave up too many leaks as the game progressed.
Give Aaron Rodgers credit for finishing with some interest. It proved again the way this team rallies around its field general and it also helped a great many bettors score on their over/under total number.
39 passes and 30 rushes for the Falcons.
45 passes and 17 rushes for the Packers.
Yes, that had a lot to do with the way the game played out on the field, but a nearly 2 ½ to 1 ratio of passes to rushes -- long term -- is just not a recipe for success.
We’ll have plenty of pregame analysis in the next couple weeks leading up to Super Bowl 51. Don’t forget, our coverage of the Super Bowl gets underway on February 5 at noon, with kickoff scheduled for 4:30 p.m. (MTN)