Green Bay and Baltimore share wildcard aspirations in their respective conferences. The teams will go head-to-head at Lambeau Field on Monday night to wrap up the Week 13 slate. The NFL’s top ranked defense will be on display in the contest, and for those

2009-12-04

Green Bay and Baltimore share wildcard aspirations in their respective conferences. The teams will go head-to-head at Lambeau Field on Monday night to wrap up the Week 13 slate. The NFL’s top ranked defense will be on display in the contest, and for those of you not familiar with the NFL of 2009, it is Green Bay owning that designation, not the Ravens. That’s why the Packers are in the role of favorites for this contest, laying 3-points at Sportsbook.com.

The Packers are 7-4 and facing a 2-game road trip following this one, placing a premium on gaining a victory here. They are just 2-5 SU (4-3 ATS) on Monday night under Mike McCarthy though. Green Bay will have had what accounts for almost a bye week before this one, 11 days since winning at Detroit on Thanksgiving. The Ravens own a 3-2 SU & 4-1 ATS mark vs. non-conference foes under John Harbaugh and face their next three games against NFC North opponents. They are 7-6 after beating Pittsburgh, 2-3 on the road. Home teams have swept the L3 meetings between these teams, both SU & ATS.

The Packers have come a long way since a loss to previously winless Tampa Bay in Week 8 dropped them to .500. Their convincing 34-12 victory at Detroit on Thanksgiving Day was their third in a row and improved their chances in a wild-card race sure to come down to the wire as usual.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers tied a career-high with three touchdown passes and cornerback Charles Woodson had two of four interceptions of Detroit rookie signal-caller Matthew Stafford, returning one for a game-sealing touchdown, to lead Green Bay to its ninth straight win over the Lions.

Rodgers comes into Monday night’s game at Lambeau Field against Baltimore in a serious groove with 881 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions since the defeat to the Buccaneers. It should also be noted he’s been sacked only three times in the last two games working behind a much-maligned offensive line that gave up 41 sacks through nine contests. He’s thrown an interception in only three games all year, and his 22-to-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio and 104.9 rating are among the best in the NFL.

For the Ravens, this is their third prime-time game in four weeks. The last time they played on Monday their defense pitched a shutout at lowly Cleveland but the offense struggled to put points on the board. One of their two touchdowns in the 16-point victory was a pick six by Dawan Landry. Last Sunday night’s win over Pittsburgh put them a game over .500, but they’ve produced just 58 points over the past month.
This week could ultimately determine if Baltimore returns to the playoffs following an appearance in the AFC Championship Game last season. After the Packers only one of its last four opponents has a winning record (Steelers) and the other three (Lions, Bears and Raiders) are floundering.

The Ravens need to get back to stretching defenses, and with pass-rushing linebacker Aaron Kampman and cornerback Al Harris missing from Green Bay’s lineup it’ll be up to offensive coordinator Cam Cameron to turn second-year quarterback Joe Flacco loose. Flacco completed only two touchdown passes in five November games and also had three sub-200-yard efforts. Derrick Mason (52 catches, five touchdowns) can expect to work against Woodson, who ranks tied for second in the league with seven interceptions.

PREDICTION: The Packers would feel great about their playoff chances if they get this one, but to do so they’ll have to protect Rodgers from the teeth of a defense capable of turning a game in the Ravens’ favor at any time. BALTIMORE 20, GREEN BAY 19

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