On Sunday, Rodgers (18 for 27, 180 yards, three TDs, no interceptions) had his entire skill set on display, showcasing his strong arm on a variety of throws, sliding away from pressure in the pocket to keep plays alive and spreading the ball to nine receivers. He sold his first touchdown pass, a seven-yarder to backup tight end Tom (Don't Call Me Michael) Crabtree late in the first quarter, with a wicked play fake to running back Cheap Cowboys Jerseys 2011  John Kuhn(notes). On his second scoring toss, which gave Green Bay a 14-0 lead with 5:21 left in the first half, Rodgers rolled to his right and perfectly placed his low pass to wideout James Jones(notes) in the front right corner of the end zone.
After Vick drove the Eagles into position for David Akers'(notes) 29-yard field goal, Rodgers threw a glorious deep ball to Jones down the right sideline that should have staked the Packers to an 18-point halftime lead, but the receiver dropped it as cornerback Asante Samuel(notes) gave futile pursuit.
The quarterback's lone miscue ¨C a fumble at his own 19-yard line after being sacked by defensive end Darryl Tapp(notes) on the third play of the third quarter ¨C set up Vick's 24-yard TD strike to Jason Avant(notes). Rodgers, however, atoned by driving Green Bay 80 yards on 11 plays, ending with a well-executed screen that halfback Brandon Jackson(notes) patiently turned into a 16-yard touchdown reception.
Those were the Pack's last points, however, and when Vick scored on a one-yard sneak with 4:02 remaining, then got the ball at his 34 with 1:45 to go, Rodgers stood on the sidelines with a pit in his stomach like everyone else in Packer Nation.
Lose this game, and Rodgers would've been subjected to at least another year's worth of rebuke from the Favre-o-philes who've never considered him Cheap Bears Jerseys 2011  worthy of his legendary predecessor's legacy.
Rodgers had to hear all about it in 2008 when, despite putting up big numbers in his first season as a starter, the Pack went 6-10 and lost a maddening succession of close games. In '09 he played even better but suffered the indignity of two heartbreaking defeats to the rival Minnesota Vikings, the team Favre had joined after a single season with the New York Jets. The fact that Favre put up near-MVP numbers and brought the Vikes to the brink of a conference championship further empowered the anti-Rodgers crowd.
Williams makes the game-saving play.
(Chris Trotman/Getty Images)
This season, Rodgers got the upper hand: Favre and the Vikings endured a nightmarish unraveling, and the Packers swept Minnesota. And while Rodgers was surprisingly left off the NFC's Pro Bowl roster, another Green Bay player who fits that description ¨C Williams, a fourth-year cornerback who is quietly one of the league's best ¨C made sure the Pack's Super Bowl dreams survived past Sunday:
On first-and-10 from the Green Bay 27, Vick lofted a high pass for wideout Riley Cooper(notes) in the left corner of the end zone, and Williams leapt in front of him to intercept it and give his quarterback a final, sweet kneel-down to end the game.
When Rodgers, now 1-1 in the postseason, reached Cheap Steelers Jerseys 2011  his locker after showering, Jennings yelled sarcastically, "Heeeyyyyy, first playoff win! It's about time! What's it been, like, 10 years?"
Later, in regard to the same subject, McCarthy said, "Why don't we wait till the guy's done playing? We're just getting started. He's going to be doing this for another decade.
"I think he's special. I don't know how much credit he gets, but it's not enough. He has total command. If there's something we don't do, it ain't because of Aaron Rodgers."
Whatever Rodgers does in Atlanta next Saturday, and perhaps in the NFC championship game and Super Bowl, the chill he once experienced in Titletown seems to have thawed irrevocably. Last Monday morning, after the regular-season-ending victory over the NFC North champion Bears that put Green Bay into the playoffs, Rodgers went out to breakfast with his friend and fellow Cal alum Adam Duritz, and a middle-aged woman came by the table to ask for an autograph.
Rodgers pointed to Duritz, the lead singer for Counting Crows, and told the woman, "You should ask for his autograph. He's a rock star, man. He's much bigger than me."
Duritz shook his head, his trademark dreadlocks covering up a smile, and said, "Not in this town."
Especially not after Sunday, when Rodgers got his first taste of postseason success. And while it might not have been as momentous for the quarterback as his critics made it out to be, it definitely didn't suck.