No holding back now for Packers and Cardinals

Last of four breakdowns on the first round of the NFL playoffs:

This time for keeps

The Cardinals clearly thought they had nothing to gain by winning their Week 17 finale against Green Bay, so they rested some key players. Afterward, Arizona Coach Ken Whisenhunt seemed agitated that the Packers kept their foot on the gas in the second half of a 33-7 pounding.

“They had their plan,” Whisenhunt said. “I guess they felt good about what they were doing.”

In August, Green Bay’s starters built a 38-10 halftime lead against the Cardinals in an exhibition game. An irked Whisenhunt accused the Packers of game-planning for a meaningless affair.

Were the Cardinals right to rest players (although they did play receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald), or were the Packers right to play their hardest no matter the stakes?

It all comes down to Sunday’s game, one with no excuses or alibis and an incentive everyone can understand: Loser goes home.

Packers Coach Mike McCarthy makes no apologies for keeping his best players on the field for most of last week’s game.

“We’re the youngest team in the league for the fourth year in a row . . . “ he said.

“Our goal as a coaching staff was to keep these guys on track and get as much momentum and confidence going into the playoffs, because the other teams that we’re going to be competing against have more experience.”

First-timers

This weekend will be the first career playoff start for Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers (and for the New York Jets’ Mark Sanchez). Rodgers, who threw for 4,434 yards and 30 touchdowns this season, doesn’t seem overly stressed about his postseason debut.

“I dreamt about playing in Super Bowls,” he told reporters this week. “Obviously, you’ve got to win these playoff games to get there.”

The players with the most yards passing in their first career postseason start:

PLAYER	YARDS
Kelly Holcomb	429
Randall Cunningham	407
Kurt Warner	391
Neil Lomax	385
Richard Todd	377
Source: NFL

Air-izona

A year ago, it was the phenomenal passing of Kurt Warner that powered the Cardinals to the Super Bowl (although their 32nd-ranked running game did pick up the pace a bit in the postseason). Now, the Cardinals have a better running game, led by rookie Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower. That said, they’re facing Green Bay’s top-ranked run defense.

Will the Cardinals throw, throw, throw? Or -- especially with Boldin nursing ankle and knee injuries -- can they establish some balance with their ground game?

Where do they rate?

Warner’s 98.9 career passer rating in the postseason is second-best in NFL history to -- who else? -- a Green Bay Packers great.

Bart Starr, a Hall of Fame quarterback, had a 104.8 rating.

Highest career postseason passer ratings:

QB	TD	INT	RATING
Bart Starr	15	3	104.8
Kurt Warner*	26	13	98.9
Joe Montana	45	21	95.6
Ken Anderson	9	6	93.5
Joe Theismann	11	7	91.4
*Active Source: Arizona Cardinals

Another viewpoint

NBC’s Tony Dungy on the Packers: “I think they can score and they’ve got a defense that can create takeaways. I don’t think the top two teams in the NFC are playing as consistent and as well as the top two teams in the AFC. I think [Green Bay has] the chance to do some damage.”

Stats comparison

	GB	AZ
Points scored	28.8 (3)	23.4 (11)
Points given up	18.6 (7)	20.3 (14T)
Pass offense	261.2 (7)	251.0 (12)
Rush offense	117.8 (14)	93.4 (28)
Pass defense	201.1 (5)	233.7 (23)
Rush defense	83.3 (1)	112.8 (17)
Turnover ratio	+24 (1)	-7 (24T)
Sacks	37 (11T)	43 (6)
Penalties	118 (1)	108 (7)

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