INSIDE THE MATCHUPS
GIANTS’ PASS OFFENSE vs. PACKERS’ PASS DEFENSE
This is where the Giants must come up big. The Packers are depleted in their secondary with injuries to CBs Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins. They need Randall to work against Odell Beckham Jr. and if he is not on the field it’s a heavy loss. The strength of the Green Bay defensive backfield is safeties Morgan Burnett and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix; they will hit and cover. Clinton-Dix leads the team with five interceptions. If given time, Eli Manning should be able to find Beckham — who will be surrounded — as well as rookie Sterling Shepard and Victor Cruz. Shepard is unflappable and could be the X-factor in his first postseason game. The Packers have 40 sacks, led by Nick Perry with 11 and ageless Julius Peppers with 7.5. LB Clay Matthews (five sacks) is always a threat. Bobby Hart is going to have his hands full with DT Mike Daniels and Ereck Flowers must try not to get schooled by Peppers.
GIANTS’ RUN OFFENSE vs. PACKERS’ RUN DEFENSE
If this was a fight they’d stop it early. The Packers are eighth in the league against the run, allowing only 94.7 yards per game. The Giants are 29th in rushing offense, averaging only 88.3 yards per game, though they have run it better down the stretch of the season and are coming off a season-high 161 yards vs. the Redskins. The ground game has been ignited by rookie Paul Perkins, who has moved in as the starter and makes more defenders miss than veteran Rashad Jennings. Perkins was not involved in the offense in the regular-season meeting and the Giants (43 rushing yards) gave up on their ground game early. Daniels is tough to move, Perry is active and if Matthews is not blocked he will lay a hit on a running back. Run blocking is not a forte of the Giants’ offensive line, although with LG Justin Pugh back from a knee injury it has improved.
PACKERS’ PASS OFFENSE vs. GIANTS’ PASS DEFENSE
Good luck. Aaron Rodgers is on an all-time roll — 18 touchdown passes, no interceptions in his past seven games — and he is almost impossible to corral, as he is more dangerous out of the pocket than he is within it. He can sling it from any angle and the Giants’ defensive backs talked all week about “plastering’’ to the receivers for as long as it takes. Jordy Nelson (97 catches, 1,257 yards) led the NFL with 14 TDs and should easily win the Comeback Player of the Year award. Randall Cobb is a weapon in the slot and Davante Adams (12 TDs) is also a force. The Giants have one of the top defensive backfields in the NFL and possess the personnel to keep things under wraps, with their fine cornerback trio of Janoris Jenkins, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and rookie Eli Apple. DRC was hampered in the first meeting and Apple barely played at all because of a groin injury. Landon Collins at strong safety has emerged as a star in his second season. Rodgers will look to go at rookie free safety Andrew Adams, though veteran Leon Hall, a natural cornerback, will see plenty of time.
PACKERS’ RUN OFFENSE vs. GIANTS’ RUN DEFENSE
Ty Montgomery has been a revelation for the Packers. He wears No. 88 and was a receiver until injuries to Eddie Lacy and James Starks prompted the move to running back. The Packers give Montgomery zone-read plays to get him into open space, where he’s more comfortable, and he has responded by averaging 5.9 yards per carry. They also will sprinkle in Christine Michael and fullback Aaron Ripkowski. Still, the Packers are 20th in run offense and this is a great strength of the Giants, tied for third in the NFL against the run. Thank Damon Harrison for that. He has 86 tackles, which is outrageous for such a big man in the middle. Collins (125 tackles) is also a huge factor coming up against the run. The Packers ran it well (147 yards, the most all season on the Giants) in the first game, but that was primarily Lacy and he is on injured reserve.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Mason Crosby did not kick for Vince Lombardi or play alongside Bart Starr but he is 32 and still at it. He is 26-for-30 on field goals, but he did miss three extra points. The Giants’ kicker is no spring chicken and Robbie Gould, 35, says Lambeau is his favorite place to kick. He has made all 10 of his field-goal attempts since replacing Josh Brown but has missed three extra points. Ben McAdoo calls Brad Wing “a weapon’’ and he has been needed too often — punting 93 times this season. The Giants’ return game has been stagnant — might we see Beckham back on punts? Montgomery has a 40-yard kickoff return for the Packers.
COACHING
This is the mentor vs. the pupil, Mike McCarthy vs. Ben McAdoo, two native sons of rural Pennsylvania, friends and EDGE now coaching rivals. McAdoo followed McCarthy to New Orleans, San Francisco and then Green Bay, working as an offensive assistant for McCarthy for eight years with the Packers. The West Coast offense McAdoo brought to the Giants is pretty much McCarthy’s offense. It will be fascinating to see who turns out to have the edge here. McCarthy certainly has the experience. Steve Spagnuolo must come up big with a defensive scheme that harasses Rodgers, but at the same time is not overly aggressive going after him.
INTANGIBLES
The game is in Green Bay, though the Packers have lost their post-season invulnerability at Lambeau — they are 4-5 in their past nine home playoff games. Nothing that happened in 2008 and 2012 in the playoffs at this venue — the Giants winning both times — will be a factor on the field, but you know the fans will get a bit jumpy if another upset starts brewing. The weather will be arctic for both sides. Does it bother 36-year-old Manning more than 33-year-old Rodgers?