All eyes are on Aaron Rodgers this week, and specifically on his ailing left calf.
Rodgers didn't practice Wednesday, but Packers coach Mike McCarthy tried to put a damper on the seriousness of that absence by saying he expects his star quarterback to play in Sunday's NFC divisional playoff against the Cowboys at Lambeau Field.
McCarthy indicated Rodgers' day off was precautionary and mainly for treatment purposes.
"I plan on Aaron playing Sunday," McCarthy told reporters. "Today's schedule was for him to stay exclusively in the training room. We'll see what [Thursday] brings on if he'll be able to practice. It's day-to-day, but everything points in the direction of him playing."
Rodgers' health has been an issue for Green Bay since he injured the calf in a Week 16 victory over the Buccaneers, then re-injured it the following week in a win over the Lions that clinched the NFC North title and a first-round bye.
If Rodgers plays Sunday but isn't able to practice this week, the Packers still have reason for concern because of his recent history in the playoffs when coming off a stretch of inactivity.
The Giants remember that all too well from their 2011 Super Bowl run, when the Packers rested Rodgers in Week 17 and watched that backfire when he came out rusty in Big Blue's 37-20 win in Green Bay in the same divisional round as this year.
Rodgers missed a wide-open receiver for what would have been an early touchdown that might have altered the course of that game, then completed just 26-of-46 passes for 246 yards — both figures well below his season average — and was intercepted once.
With the second-seeded Packers (12-4) having last week off because of the bye, no wonder Rodgers sounded so determined to practice this week — even at the risk of making the injury worse.
"[Making the injury worse] is not a concern," Rodgers said on his weekly radio show. "If it happens, it happens. At that point, it's out of my control. I've got to get myself in the best position to play, and then deal with whatever limitations I have moving. Maybe I won't have any."
Unfortunately for Rodgers, the weather in Green Bay on Sunday isn't expected to help his injury.
While it won't be Ice Bowl II for the Cowboys' first playoff trip to Lambeau since the famous original in 1967, the projected high of 18 degrees (and low of six degrees) still won't provide Rodgers with any physical comfort.
At least the injury is to Rodgers' left leg and not his plant leg, so it shouldn't affect the NFL MVP favorite's throwing motion. But the injury could play in the Cowboys' favor by making Rodgers — one of the most mobile quarterbacks in the league, often at backbreaking times — a lot less dangerous with his feet.
Of course, the fourth-seeded Cowboys (13-4) have quarterback injury concerns of their own coming off last week's controversial 24-20 wild card win over the Lions — just the second playoff victory of Tony Romo's career.
Romo didn't practice Wednesday, as is customary since he had back surgery in the offseason and then suffered two small fractures in his back in a Week 8 overtime loss to the Redskins, and the frigid weather Sunday obviously won't help Romo's condition.
Like Rodgers, though, Romo seems to play better when he's hurt. Despite dealing with a bad back all year to the point that he required regular painkilling injections, he led the NFL in completion percentage (69.9 percent) and passer rating (113.2) during the regular season.
Romo said he expects both quarterbacks to shake off their health problems with so much on the line.
"Oh no, he'll be fine," Romo said when asked if Rodgers' absence will hurt him. "When you've played the game long enough it's not going to disrupt his timing. He'll be fine. I expect him to be at full [go]."
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