Can the Packers actually win on Sunday?

[Rupert Patrick]

Greatest game ever? It was a very interesting game, I would say.

As far as greatest game ever, I would go with the 1981 Miami SD Divisional Playoff as the greatest game I've ever seen, with the 1979 Washington Dallas game a close second. However, I do think the Seattle GB game was one of the handful of most interesting games of the 2014 season, along with the Denver Seattle game from week 3, the San Diego Baltimore from week 13, and the week 16 San Diego San Fran game, and the Dallas Detroit Divisional game, to name a couple. I would say the NFC Championship is to this point the most memorable game of the season, and is one of the greatest finishes ever, but I would probably not put it among the 100 greatest games ever.

[Citizen]

Agreed, it was a terribly sloppy game with an amazing finish -- not unlike the 1958 title game and the Immaculate Reception game.

Without taking anything away from Seattle -- which really did show a champion's mettle by getting off the mat the way they did -- I can't think of an instance when a team had a game of this magnitude well in hand so late and went to pieces so thoroughly. Game 6 of the 1986 World Series is the only one that comes close.

Brandon Bostick is the convenient whipping boy for the mindless goons on Twitter, but he has lots of company on the list of Green Bay goats. And at the root of the team meltdown is the appallingly cautious approach of Mike McCarthy. All game long, his message was to play not to lose, and all Morgan Burnett was doing when he gave himself up on his interception was following that lead.

[Bryan]

Without taking anything away from Seattle -- which really did show a champion's mettle by getting off the mat the way they did --

The most amazing thing to me was that Russell Wilson survived the block by Clay Matthews. He looked like he would be unconscious...I don't think any other NFL QB could have come back from that hit. Tough guy.

I don't know what to make of Matthews' hit, but I didn't really understand the penalty or the referee's explanation.

[Bob Gill]

The most amazing thing to me was that Russell Wilson survived the block by Clay Matthews. He looked like he would be unconscious...I don't think any other NFL QB could have come back from that hit. Tough guy.

I don't know what to make of Matthews' hit, but I didn't really understand the penalty or the referee's explanation.

I didn't understand it either. I have no problem with calling a penalty when a defensive player takes a cheap shot at a quarterback during an interception return, but there's no way you could call this one a cheap shot. Wilson was, what, ten feet from the ball carrier and trying to make a tackle when Matthews hit him, which is the definition of what a blocker is supposed to do. As far as I could tell, the penalty was for hitting a quarterback hard. But now that I put it that way, I guess it's no surprise that an NFL official would throw a flag.

[Citizen]

There were a few interesting non-calls. Sweezy's personal foul could have been 15 more tacked on if the official had decided that it happened after the play was over. Lynch could have gotten 15 for grabbing his crotch after scoring (again). And replays showed that Seattle was offside on the play that ended with Sherman's interception.

None of these would necessarily have made any difference, but it's more for Packers fans to torture themselves over.

[Reaser]

There were a few interesting non-calls. Sweezy's personal foul could have been 15 more tacked on if the official had decided that it happened after the play was over. Lynch could have gotten 15 for grabbing his crotch after scoring (again). And replays showed that Seattle was offside on the play that ended with Sherman's interception.

None of these would necessarily have made any difference, but it's more for Packers fans to torture themselves over.

Jordy Nelson's facemask being grabbed, too. Also have seen a lot of Packers fans saying there was offensive P.I. on Lynch's catch (initially TD before replay) but it looked to be like Willson tried to pick but Barrington ran around him and there was no contact.

A lot of that is ticky-tack stuff though or just trying to manufacture a controversy. There was soft calls against Seattle in the first half, and the Packers lone TD had a pick/hip check that knocked the DB down - though he was trailing Cobb anyways but if we're calling 'everything' then that was offensive P.I.

Not sure what's confusing about the Matthews penalty for blindside block. Can't goto the head/neck area on a blindside block, in addition to that QB's are automatically considered "defenseless players" on a change of possession. The referee did not explain it well since he was talking about a kick for some reason? Though it was pretty obvious what the penalty was for. Plus as Bob put it, a QB got hit hard. 99 out of 100 times that's a penalty, if it had been another position then probably 50 out of 100 times, which those made-up numbers sum up a lot of the issues with this era, soft. 21 men on the field are playing football while one is playing some bastardized version of the sport. Obvious penalty these days, but Matthews was playing football, nice block as far as I'm concerned.

Obviously agree with Citizen's comparison to the 1958 title game, since that's what I said too. Sloppy game with an amazing finish. What I'm finding funny is the various narratives this game is being given. Many are saying the Packers dominated then collapsed and/or Seattle took it at the end. Packers dominated makes it seem like Rodgers was lighting it up and throwing all over Seattle, Lacy was running over everyone, and the Packers defense was shutting everything down and forcing TO's as opposed to benefiting from unforced errors. I didn't see it like that, at all. I saw two teams playing pretty poor football, with Seattle playing slightly worse which is why GB had the lead. Green Bay was almost consistent, played below average from start to finish, while Seattle played somewhere below, below average for over 3 quarters then they played good and coupled with Green Bay staying at their poor level, that was enough to come back and eventually win.

[Bryan]

Not sure what's confusing about the Matthews penalty for blindside block. Can't goto the head/neck area on a blindside block, in addition to that QB's are automatically considered "defenseless players" on a change of possession. The referee did not explain it well since he was talking about a kick for some reason? Though it was pretty obvious what the penalty was for.

Because the block wasn't made on Wilson's blindside (???), and when a QB starts running toward the ballcarrier, he gives up his "defenseless player" status. At least thats my understanding of the rules...although the rules seem to change pretty frequently.

[Bryan]

There were a few interesting non-calls. Sweezy's personal foul could have been 15 more tacked on if the official had decided that it happened after the play was over.

Much like the 'paradox' of Clay Matthews 'blindsiding'' Russell Wilson while standing in front of him, its impossible to call Sweezy for a personal foul and at the same time consider his hit on Matthews to be during the play. If the official determined that Sweezy hit Matthews during the play, then there is no reason to throw a flag. He is trying to block Matthews. The only reason the ref threw the flag was because Sweezy hit Matthews after the whistle.

The NFL actually made an official statement saying that "it’s a judgment call by the official as to whether the penalty occurred during or after the play"....which makes no sense because (Hochuli voice) by rule you can't have a "late hit" penalty for a hit that takes place during the play. Am I the only one not getting this?

In a regular season which has been oversaturated with tedious officiating, this postseason has lived up to expectation.

[Reaser]

Because the block wasn't made on Wilson's blindside (???), and when a QB starts running toward the ballcarrier, he gives up his "defenseless player" status. At least thats my understanding of the rules...although the rules seem to change pretty frequently.

"Blindside" is defined by moving toward or parallel (Wilson) to his own end line and is hit from behind or from the side (Matthews was coming from behind or can say hit in from the side). Plus of course head/neck area. So that's one.

QB's don't give up "defenseless player" protections even if they're trying to make the tackle, they still can't be hit in the head/neck area on a change of possession. So that's two.

Regardless of the rules, a QB was hit hard. So that's three reason's for the penalty and why it shouldn't have been surprising or confusing.

None of that means that I agree with the rule - obviously I don't, since I don't think anyone who's on the field is defenseless - but outside of the referee stumbling through the explanation, there should not have been any confusion as to why it was a penalty.

[King Kong]

The most amazing thing to me was that Russell Wilson survived the block by Clay Matthews. He looked like he would be unconscious...I don't think any other NFL QB could have come back from that hit. Tough guy.

I don't know what to make of Matthews' hit, but I didn't really understand the penalty or the referee's explanation.

I didn't understand it either. I have no problem with calling a penalty when a defensive player takes a cheap shot at a quarterback during an interception return, but there's no way you could call this one a cheap shot. Wilson was, what, ten feet from the ball carrier and trying to make a tackle when Matthews hit him, which is the definition of what a blocker is supposed to do. As far as I could tell, the penalty was for hitting a quarterback hard. But now that I put it that way, I guess it's no surprise that an NFL official would throw a flag.

Quinton Coples of the Jets was actually penalized this season for tackling a player too hard. This is the league we deal with now. To me, the Matthews hit on Wilson should not have drawn a flag because Wilson was trying to get close enough to tackle another guy. At that point, he was a defender and should not be protected like he should be when he is in the pocket doing quarterback activities. But based on player safety rules being what they are these days...

I thought Morgan Burnett going down on his own after the interception was not good. I haven't seen All-22 footage of the play. The TV shot clearly showed he at least had another five yards he could have gained. The move to slide down was extremely conservative. Before the drive started, I bet the defenders were told to go down if they recover a fumble or pick off a pass. I do not like that lack of aggression. He should have tried to gain more yardage or go all the way for a touchdown.

The Brandon Bostick gaffe, Mike McCarthy's conservatism, and some breakdowns on defense late were all rotten too. It is amazing all the bad things the Packers did at the end. Fortunately, that franchise can withstand it to some degree. If something like this happened to the Browns, Lions, Jets, Cardinals, Falcons, Chiefs, it would be even more devastating.