Since the Patriots and Packers only meet every four years, this will probably be the final Brady-Rodgers meeting unless the two meet in the Super Bowl in the next couple of seasons.

That being the case, a blown call is the last thing the NFL wants to have as the indelible memory from Sunday Night Football. It happens. Both quarterbacks have been victimized in prime-time by officiating absurdities – Aaron Rodgers had the Fail Mary the week after the Patriots-Ravens replacement ref disaster left Bill Belichick clutching for an official after the game. Clete Blakeman’s crew mangled a DPI call on a Monday night in Carolina a year later.

Brad Allen’s crew has this game. So far this year, they call a smidge fewer penalties than the league average and have called a couple more penalties on the home team (46) than the visitors (40).

The Patriots are one of the league’s cleaner teams – they have 38 assessed penalties in eight games (another 11 have been declined). The Packers have 51 assessed penalties in seven games with nine penalties declined. They had just two assessed penalties last week against the Rams.

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Both quarterbacks put the heat on officials with their savvy. Rodgers is particularly adept at getting free plays for his offense with his cadence (waste time with the “free play compilation” highlight video that has plenty of Rodgers), while Brady is a master at quick-snapping before the defense is either set or finished getting off the field.

It will be a shock to nobody if this game isn’t decided until the closing minutes. God willing, Allen and his crew don’t figure in the decision.

Valdes-Scantling under the radar

With the Packers trading away Ty Montgomery earlier this week, they will be using a new kickoff return man on Sunday night. Even though Montgomery’s return decision against the Rams seemed to lead directly to his departure, he’s been their lead kick returner this year taking back 10 of the 12 returns Green Bay’s had.

Randall Cobb is a possible replacement back there as is rookie Marquez Valdes-Scantling. He’s 6-4, has good hands and can fly. Valdes-Scantling is a dark horse to make an impact in the regular offense against the Patriots as well. With outside receiver Geronimo Allison sidelined, Scantling will step into his role. His production the past two games (five catches, 148 yards and a touchdown) means the Patriots will be taking his presence seriously.

Chris Collinsworth's take

Here’s a leftover from my podcast conversation earlier this week with Cris Collinsworth. Collinsworth will be alongside Al Michaels calling this game for NBC.

He pointed out that, for all the conversation about Patrick Mahomes, Carson Wentz and Jared Goff, the very top of the quarterback food chain has players that are graying at the temples.

“This debate (about who’s the best) is a really compelling one for me because I believe playing quarterback in this league is about 25 percent arm strength and about 75 percent other stuff,” said Collinsworth. “There’s a reason why we’re seeing Tom Brady and Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers and Phillip Rivers and Drew Brees and Ben Reothlisberger still dominating the game. Because once you understand mentally what’s going on and you don’t have to rely on a coach on the sideline to what’s happening out there and you can adjust the play call on the field on the fly. That’s the most efficient way to play football.”

I also asked Collinsworth whether my perception of Brady as the consummate technician while Rodgers is the ultimate “feel” player was one he agreed with.

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Collinsworth indicated that – while Brady seeks to have his feet, hips, stride, arm angle, head, etc. in perfect throwing position, Rodgers actively eschews that.

“Brady’s made plenty of off-platform throws in his career but Aaron Rodgers doesn’t want to be on platform,” said Collinsworth. “He doesn’t practice those. He knows he can make them. So what he does is practice all these off-platform throws and I think to some extent he kind of falls in love with them. He’s like a no-look passer in basketball. He doesn’t want to move his feet because he has the arm strength to get it there and he’s gonna throw you off by having his body in a different position.”

The notion he “falls in love with them” isn’t always a positive.

Andy Benoit of Sports Illustrated did an essay this week on which quarterback he’d prefer.

While Brady is a living, breathing tutorial on the mechanics of passing, Rodgers is the QB whom high school coaches and passing instructors don’t want their young players to see. A tight release and strong right wrist allow him to flick the ball from awkward release points and angles, even though his feet—a key driver of accuracy—are often all over the place.

Unlike Brady, who to some extent is reliant on the success of the play design, Rodgers can make something out of nothing. But what about when Rodgers makes nothing out of something? Almost every week, there are times when Green Bay’s design yields an open receiver but Rodgers doesn’t attempt the throw. Even more perplexing is when he makes something else out of something. Often the play will work, but he’ll ignore the open receiver and break things down, only to later find a receiver (sometimes even that same one) for a bigger play. When Rodgers’s unstructured approach goes well—which is more often than not—the Packers are impossible to defend. But when it doesn’t go well, they become wildly inconsistent.

In essence, the ability to make or find the plays that are there with great consistency trumps the ability to make the plays that aren’t there.

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