Green Bay @ Arizona preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 27, 2015 ) Green Bay 8, Arizona 38

The Green Bay Packers rebounded from a late-season stumble with an impressive road victory over the Washington Redskins in the opening round of the playoffs on Sunday. The road only gets more difficult for quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, who will try to avenge a 30-point beating in Week 16 when they visit the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday night.

Green Bay was bludgeoned at Arizona 38-8 before dropping a 20-13 decision at home to Minnesota in the regular-season finale to squander their chance for the NFC North title. Rodgers said the Packers had their "mojo" back after erasing an early 11-point deficit versus Washington to set up a rematch with the Cardinals. No. 2 seed Arizona reeled off nine consecutive victories before absorbing a 36-6 loss to visiting Seattle in its season finale. Behind quarterback Carson Palmer, the Cardinals feature the league's top-ranked offense and finished second in the league in scoring with an average of 30.6 points.

TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, NBC. LINE: Cardinals -7.5. O/U: 50

ABOUT THE PACKERS (11-6): Rodgers rallied Green Bay by throwing a pair of second-quarter touchdown passes against Washington, including one to second-year wide receiver Davante Adams, who is not expected to play Saturday due to an MCL sprain in his knee. The Packers' ground game, which has struggled throughout the season, got going against the Redskins as Eddie Lacy and James Starks each ran for a second-half touchdown while gaining a combined 116 yards on 24 carries. Green Bay, which ranked sixth in the league against the pass, recorded six sacks in their wild-card victory.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS (13-3): Palmer set career highs in yards (4,671), TD passes (35) and quarterback rating while throwing to one of the league's top receiving corps in Larry Fitzgerald (career-high 109 catches), John Brown and Michael Floyd, which combined for 22 scoring receptions. Rookie running back David Johnson has scored a total of 13 touchdowns and had been superb since taking over as the starter while also providing a pass-catching threat out of the backfield. Arizona recorded nine sacks in Week 16 against the Packers, but linebacker Alex Okafor suffered a toe injury during the bye that ended his season.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Arizona LB Dwight Freeney and DL Calais Campbell combined for 5.5 sacks in the first meeting.

2. Rodgers threw for 423 yards and four touchdowns in his first career playoff start - a 51-45 loss at Arizona in January 2010.

3. Floyd has recorded five 100-yard performances in his last eight games, including six catches for 111 yards against the Packers.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 27, Packers 23