As Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers prepares to make his sixth postseason start Sunday against the New York Giants, it will be the first chance for the Lambeau Field crowd to see the quarterback in a playoff game.

"We're hoping for a great crowd and a loud, raucous environment," Rodgers said Wednesday in the locker room.

Rodgers will probably have a hand in determining how loud and raucous Lambeau Field will be Sunday. When the postseason starts, Rodgers plays his best. His performances the last two years have been historic.

Rodgers holds the best postseason quarterback rating (112.6) in NFL history in his five postseason starts. He's been even better at home, posting a passer rating of 128 at Lambeau Field this season. The next closest quarterback is New Orleans' Drew Brees who has a 106.2 postseason passer rating. Rodgers also edges Brees in postseason completion percentage 67.8 to 67.7. Rodgers also has the highest yards per attempt average in NFL history with 8.72, topping Kurt Warner (8.55) and Joe Theismann (8.45).

"It's a situation where the focus has to go up," Rodgers said of playing in the postseason. "The urgency has to go up. There's a feeling at practice that you want to have where guys are making the right reaction to what they are seeing. The preparation hopefully is there across the board and guys care enough to take their work home with them. These games obviously mean more because it's win or go home."

In five playoff starts, Rodgers has three 120-plus rated games.

His most impressive game was a nearly flawless performance in the Georgia Dome in last year's playoffs. Throwing for three touchdowns and 366 yards, Rodgers posted a 136.8 rating as the Packers beat the No. 1 seed 48-21.

In Rodgers' postseason debut in 2009, he threw for 423 yards, four touchdowns and an interception for a passer rating of 121.3. The Packers' lost that game in overtime, 51-45

In last season's wild-card playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Packers won 21-16. Rodgers threw for 180 yards and three touchdowns to post a 122.5 rating.

With an NFC Championship game and a chance to repeat as Super Bowl champions on the line, another jaw-dropping performance by Rodgers Sunday wouldn't be a surprise.

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-- GERRARD DIAZ
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As they enter the fourth quarter of the NFL season, the NFC North Division champion Green Bay Packers are undefeated and looking for win No. 13 Sunday against the Oakland Raiders.

The Packers have three of their final four games at their increasingly chilly home, and the only road game is in Kansas City, which should not be any more tropical than Green Bay.

"The biggest emphasis as a football team is a focus on the basics," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Wednesday. "We're playing winter football now. We play four games here, all in winter conditions. Three of them are on Lambeau Field."

The coach took his team outside Wednesday for a practice in the 20-degree weather.

"The cold is always difficult and when the wind picks up that makes it tough, too," Packers punter Tim Masthay said. "The goal is to continue to be productive. Last year we had success when it was windy and cold, too."

The Packers' offense has been playing lights out all season. The team leads the NFL in scoring, and quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been unstoppable. Still, the offense could get cold along with the weather. It gets harder to throw and catch, the colder it gets.

Any drop in offensive production for the Packers could make things difficult. Just last week, the Packers needed a last-second field goal to secure a win after the defense allowed 35 points to the New York Giants.

According to McCarthy, the defense is 7 percent off its production from last season.

"We averaged 66.3 plays a game,” McCarthy explained. "Seven percent of that is 4.4-4.5 plays a game. We’re looking at five plays a game that we need to win as opposed to lose, and then you break it down into areas that are emphasized as far as the negative plays, and it’s big plays."

The big plays have hurt a Packers defense that is second in turnovers and leads the league in interceptions, dropping the group from a top-five defense a season ago to an average to bad defense this season. The Packers rank 31st in the league for yard allowed per game.

Much like dealing with the weather, McCarthy is focused on the basics.

"We'll make adjustments," McCarthy said. "I'm fully confident that we're going to play championship defense down the stretch here."

Rodgers agrees.

"I just think we need to be playing a certain way,” Rodgers said. “If you look at last season, the way we finished up, we got hot at the right time and carried that into the playoffs ... I know (the defense) would like to improve a little bit and maybe not give up so many points. They're doing a great job."

Outside linebacker Clay Matthews thinks the defense is working, but admits there are things that can be fixed.

"Obviously we need to stop the big plays, stop the run and get to the quarterback,” Matthews said. "It's an all-around deal. But I think we can do that. And that’s what's encouraging."

As for the weather, Matthews thinks the best team is still going to win.

"Statistics have shown and studies have shown, that (playing in the cold) does effect the body,” Matthews said. "But fortunately for us, we do play in this weather. It's definitely a good change of pace from California. So, we may have a heads up in that aspect. At the end of the day, it really comes down to football and I think the better team will win despite the weather."

Packers fans should hope he's right.

The Packers have been, so far, the best team in every game this season.

With the Packers up 49-17, backup quarterback Matt Flynn took over for Rodgers.

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-- GERRARD DIAZ
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Aaron Rodgers called it a good game.

The stats say it is one of his best.

The Packers quarterback became the first player in NFL history to pass for 400 yards, four touchdowns and score two rushing touchdowns in a game. Rodgers also set a personal record for passing yards in a regular-season game (408 yards) and set a franchise record for being the first Packers quarterback to throw for 400-plus yards in two straight games.

The effort earned Rodgers and the Packers a 49-23 victory Sunday over the Denver Broncos at Lambeau Field.

"Four touchdowns through the air and two rushing touchdowns, that's as fine as a quarterback performance as I think I've been a part of, statistically," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "Our offense starts with Aaron Rodgers. He's consistent, he's done a great job managing it, getting it out of personnel groups, playing fast."

Rodgers ended the game with a passer rating of 134.5, completing 28 of 38 passes and throwing an interception.

"It was a pretty good game," Rodgers said. "I'm disappointed about the interception, but we threw the ball pretty well, we moved the ball, we were good on third down and scored a lot of points."

The day didn't start off on a record pace.

Early in the first quarter, the Packers turned the ball over after going for it on fourth and 1 from the Denver 12-yard line -- one of the few misfires for the Green Bay offense the whole game.

Denver took advantage and put together a 12-play, 78-yard drive capped with a Matt Prater 27-yard field goal.

"It felt a little funny starting off," Rodgers said. "I just felt like we weren't in a great tempo, in a great rhythm."

The Packers found their tempo pretty quickly, exploding for 21 points before the Broncos could catch their breath.

Six plays into the Packers' next possession, Rodgers found Jordy Nelson for a 50- yard touchdown pass.

Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton then threw a pick-six to Charles Woodson on the Broncos' next play from scrimmage.

"He read the play," Orton said. "It was kind of a one man route for Eric (Decker) and I thought I could get it out there enough, but he jumped it. He is a great player and he took it to the house."

The pick was Woodson's 50th of his career and his 11th interception returned for a touchdown -- tying Darren Sharper for the second most all time and just one away from tying Rod Woodson's NFL record of 12.

"It means a great deal to me to get to 50 (career interceptions), but I'm not done by far hopefully," Woodson said. "I look to make a few more."

Following Woodson's interception, the Packers did a surprise onside kick and took the ball over at the Green Bay 47-yard line.

"Hats off to them for executing very well," Denver coach John Fox said of the play. "We probably didn't react perfectly, but that was a very well executed onside."

The Packers marched down the field and Rodgers scored on an 11-yard scramble.

On that play, wide receiver Donald Driver was hit in the legs by a Broncos defender and remained on the ground in the end zone. With Driver in obvious pain, fellow wide receivers James Jones and Randall Cobb helped him off the field.

The Packers sent him to the locker room with a knee injury and said his return was questionable. Driver was able to return to the game after halftime.

The Broncos put together two scoring drives -- both capped with touchdown passes from Orton to wide receiver Eric Decker -- and pulled within four points of the Packers (21-17), but the Packers weren't done. With 24 seconds left in the half, Rodgers threw a 17-yard pass to a wide open Greg Jennings for a touchdown and a 28-17 halftime lead.

Jennings ended the day as Green Bay's leading receiver with 103 yards on seven catches and the touchdown.

In the third quarter, Rodgers scored two more touchdowns, the first on a scramble that was initially ruled down at the 1/2-yard line. After a Green Bay challenge, the run was ruled a touchdown and Green Bay took a 35-17 lead.

Linebacker Desmond Bishop had a nice game on the defensive side of the ball, logging a sack and leading the team with nine tackles. He also forced a fumble on the Broncos' first drive of the second half when Orton found tight end Daniel Fells over the middle. Bishop knocked the ball out at the Green Bay 4-yard line and Morgan Burnett was there to scoop it up.

"Des (Bishop) made a great play on the ball," Burnett said. "Not giving up and getting the strip - I saw it pop out and I just picked it up and ran with it."

Rodgers led a quick 86-yard touchdown drive -- capped by a 16-yard pass to James Jones in the end zone with a 1:16 left in the third quarter -- following the turnover. The Packers led 42-17.

The fourth quarter started with the teams trading turnovers - Rodgers was intercepted on a deflected pass to Jones, and Sam Shields intercepted Orton in the end zone and returned the ball 60 yards. The Packers then punched it in on an eight-yard throw from Rodgers to Driver, the crowd giving Driver an extra round of applause because of the injury earlier in the game.

With the Packers up 49-17, backup quarterback Matt Flynn took over for Rodgers.

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-- GERRARD DIAZ
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The Packers (3-0) face the Broncos (1-2) on Sunday for the first time since 2007.

The Pack is rolling and should be overpower the Broncos early. Still, there are some things to watch out for, should Green Bay allow an inferior team to hang around too long at Lambeau.

Elvis Dumervil vs. Marshall Newhouse
Broncos defensive end Elvis Dumervil is a relentless and disruptive pass rusher. Lining him up against a backup like Marshall Newhouse or an injured Bryan Bulaga is something the Packers will have to be concerned about and watch carefully. Newhouse could play like he did against the Bears and everything will be fine. But if not, the Packers have to be prepared to account for Dumervil by bringing extra blockers to the right side.

Greg Jennings vs Champ Bailey
Jennings has been making it look pretty easy. With Aaron Rodgers' accurate throws and Jennings' soft hands, there is not much defenders can do but make good tackles and hope to slow the combo down. Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey will probably get the call to cover Jennings. If Jennings wins this battle early, the game could be over quickly.

Packers rush defense vs, Broncos running backs
The Packers have the No. 1 rushing defense in the NFL. Granted, defenses having more luck passing against the Packers may have something to do with the low rushing numbers. Still, the Packers have to like the prospect of making the Broncos one-dimensional, taking away the running game, and forcing Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton to beat them.

Kyle Orton vs. Dom Capers
If the Packers do get the Broncos into pass mode, either by taking away the run or building a big lead, it comes down to Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers rattling Orton into making mistakes. Capers has a knack for putting his players in position to take advantage of opposing quarterbacks’ mistakes. If the game reaches this point, don’t expect a heroic comeback from Orton.

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-- GERRARD DIAZ
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Riding a nine-game winning streak that reaches back to Week 16 of last season, the Packers are becoming a pick-your-poison offense. Against the Bears, a team the offense has struggled with in past matchups, the Packers showed some maturity by running the ball -- running back Ryan Grant had 92 yards on 17? carries -- and utilizing the tight end position -- tight end Jermichael Finley had three touchdown catches -- in a way the team couldn't a season ago.

Add those elements to the Packers' ability to challenge defensive backfields on the outside and down the field and the offense looks even more dangerous than the one that rolled to the Super Bowl last season.

Against the Bears, the Packers defense showed some life, holding the Bears to just 13 yards rushing, 11 of those yards coming from quarterback Jay Cutler, who had 302 yards passing while going 21 of 37 for two touchdowns and two interceptions.

While the Packers suffered a big loss when Pro Bowl safety Nick Collins suffered a neck injury against Carolina, safety Morgan Burnett snagged two interceptions against Chicago and demonstrated range and savvy the Collins-less Packers will need in the defensive backfield. Also returning to that backfield was cornerback Tramon Williams, who was the Packers best cover corner a year ago.

In other injury news, Bryan Bulaga, the Packers starting right tackle, had to leave the game for what Mike McCarthy described as a knee bruise. Marshall Newhouse filled in adequately, but will be a target of the Broncos' defense if he has to start on Sunday?

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-- GERRARD DIAZ
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