GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The line of demarcation for Aaron Rodgers was Nov. 20 against the Washington Redskins.

Yes, the Green Bay Packers limped out of FedEx Field with another loss -- their fourth straight to fall to 4-6 -- but the quarterback saw something in himself and in his team.

For weeks leading up to that point, he said he needed to play better.

Beginning with that game and all the way to today, the eve of Sunday's NFC Championship Game between the Packers and Atlanta Falcons, it has been a different Rodgers. Including the game in Washington, Rodgers is on a 24-touchdown, one-interception run.

Aaron Rodgers has raised his game to another level from earlier this season in part because of confidence and reliable receivers. Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

"I've been playing a little bit better," Rodgers said this week.

A little bit?

Earlier in the season, we asked several NFL analysts to dissect what was wrong with Rodgers. It's only right to check in again with a couple of those same observers.

The train is back on schedule

In late October, Herm Edwards -- the former NFL player and coach-turned-ESPN analyst -- viewed Rodgers' problems as largely timing. "He doesn't keep the train on schedule," Edwards said at the time. "There's windows of opportunities ... and he's not throwing it." Tim Hasselbeck, the former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst, saw the same thing: "What I see a lot is him not playing in rhythm." It impacted Rodgers' accuracy, both said.

Says Edwards now: "I just think his accuracy is really something we all envy when you watch him play, when he extends the play. His ability now, his accuracy I think is uncanny when he leaves the pocket and makes the unannounced play.

"I said it when he threw the Hail Mary against the Giants [in the wild-card game], this is the best Hail Mary passer ever and it's not even close. And even the Hail Mary for them, it's not a prayer. His gets answered a lot."

Fundamental flaws fixed

Back in October, Matt Bowen -- the former NFL safety and current ESPN analyst -- viewed Rodgers' main problem as a slip in his fundamentals. "Technique flaws from his footwork to his core to his balance to his shoulders to his release point," Bowen said.

Says Bowen now: "That throw he made at the end of Dallas game last week to Jared Cook, I went back and watched that from the end zone angle about 15 times in a row and I'm like, 'I don't know how he made that throw.' His core power, his core strength must be amazing. But I think if you watch enough film and he's throwing on the run, I think he's done a better job in terms of his entire platform where he's throwing -- from his footwork to his core to his shoulders to his arm angle. I think that has improved."

Help from his friends

Earlier in the year, Hall of Fame quarterback and Fox NFL analyst Troy Aikman said what he saw "is a quarterback that's frustrated and a quarterback that has been frustrated for a while going back to last year" because he wasn't on the same page with his receivers.

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Says Bowen now: "It's the confidence in his receivers and the development of some of his guys. The second half of the season, you could put together a film of Davante Adams and say, 'Look, this is how you win versus press coverage. This is how you create separation down the field. This is how you beat off-man [coverage] on the slant route.' He has gotten so good at his footwork at the top of the route and at the beginning of the route. It's really top-level stuff. I think getting Randall Cobb healthy is big.

"I think before Jordy Nelson had the rib injury, he was back. He looked like the receiver we saw before the ACL. I felt that his explosion was back, the burst was back, the separation ability when the ball's in the air, that was back. Another big part is Cook. I mean Jared Cook is not Rob Gronkowski, he's not Tony Gonzalez, but he plays a nice role in this offense. He gives them an inside vertical threat. He allows them to do some isolation. Having that other option has helped.

"If Geronimo Allison, who's undrafted, can go out there on the playoff stage and make plays, that narrative didn't exist in August. Everyone is playing I think their best football because the quarterback is playing his best football. It's demanded of them.

"When you play with great players, they raise the level of play of the guys around him to the point where they're held accountable and expected to play a certain way. These guys are all responding around him."

Momentum and confidence restored

Aikman thought the key to turning it around was creating momentum and confidence. "As quickly as you can lose your momentum, as an offense, you can just as quickly get it back," he said at the time.

Says Edwards now: "When Aaron made the statement that they could run the table, it almost got him more focused, too, because he put the whole organization on his back basically. He called everybody out with that, in my opinion. He said, 'Look, we've gotta run the table. Let's stop beating around the bush. If we want to get into the playoffs, if we want to win the division, we've got to run the table.' When he said run the table, people didn't really realize what he was saying. He meant all the way to the Super Bowl.

"The teams that win and you see them doing this -- they found 'it'. I don't know what 'it' is, but when you find it, you're just saying how long can we run with it? Because it's a wonderful elixir."