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The Packers are headed to Seattle to play for the NFC title, a trip that brings them back to the place where they kicked off the 2014 season by losing 36-16 to the Seahawks.

Green Bay’s offense floundered in that game, picking up 255 total yards and catching criticism for not throwing the ball to Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman’s side of the field. On Monday, Packers coach Mike McCarthy said there was never an edict to not throw at Sherman but seemed to acknowledge the limits of his game plan to put Jordy Nelson exclusively on the opposite side of the field when he said “we’ve played a lot differently since then.”

McCarthy pointed to the improvement of rookies Davante Adams and Richard Rodgers as part of the reason why the Packers are a better offensive team now than they were in the opening week of the season. Nelson had just two catches against Dallas, but both rookies scored touchdowns and the Packers also got 100 yards on the ground from Eddie Lacy.

“I think we’ve really improved as an offense,” McCarthy said, via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Our offensive line is playing at a high level. Hey, we scored a few points this year. They’re a great defense. We recognize that, but we like the challenge.”

It will be a challenge, especially with Aaron Rodgers expected to still be limited by his calf injury. Attacking the whole field is a good start to overcoming it, though.