Eight months ago, the Atlanta Falcons scored the first 31 points on their way to a 44-21 win over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game.

Aaron Rodgers and the Packers will have a chance at redemption in the rematch in Atlanta on Sunday Night Football this week.

This will be the second NFC heavyweight showdown in a row for Green Bay, after a 17-9 win over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1. In order to remain undefeated, the Packers will need to avoid the critical mistakes they made against the Falcons in all three phases.

Kicker Mason Crosby had set an NFL record with 23 consecutive made field goals in the playoffs before he missed a 41-yard kick on the Packers' opening drive against the Falcons in the NFC Championship Game.  

Down 10 points in the second quarter, Aaron Ripkowski fumbled in the red zone to keep Green Bay from cutting the deficit before the half. Green Bay finished with a season-high five drops in that loss to Atlanta. Cutting down on those kinds of mistakes will be vital if the Packers are going to spoil the Falcons first regular-season game in their new stadium.

On the offensive side of the football, Rodgers will have the opportunity to become the 11th player in NFL history to throw 300 career touchdown passes. He is two away from that mark heading into Sunday.

If he accomplishes that feat against the Falcons, he will reach 300 touchdowns faster than any other quarterback in NFL history, with fewer attempts and fewer interceptions than any other passer to hit that milestone.

As important as the passing attack will be, Green Bay needs to place a greater emphasis on the run game against Atlanta. Rodgers led the Packers in rushing in each of their two games against the Falcons last season. Rodgers ran for a combined 106 yards in the two games, compared to 101 yards for the rest of the team.

Head coach Mike McCarthy has stressed the importance of balance on offence this season and it showed in their win over Seattle last week. Ty Montgomery had a career-high 23 touches in Week 1, which was tied for the sixth-most in the NFL. Montgomery averaged just 2.8 yards per carry while rushing for 54 yards and a touchdown against a talented Seahawks defence.

Despite the lack of efficiency, Green Bay remained committed to letting Montgomery run between the tackles. As long as they stick with it, the commitment to the run game should pay off against an Atlanta defence that was gashed for 6.6 yards per carry by the Chicago Bears in Week 1.

Meanwhile, the Packers defence will look a lot different than the group that was torched for 44 points in last year’s playoff loss. The secondary has been completely overhauled with the return to health of cornerbacks Quinten Rollins and Damarious Randall, plus the additions of cornerbacks Davon House as a free agent and rookie second-round pick Kevin King.

Injuries forced former undrafted free agent LaDarius Gunter into the No. 1 cornerback role for Green Bay in the NFC Championship game. He gave up six catches for 144 yards and two scores in a coverage mismatch versus Julio Jones, who finished that game with nine catches for 180 yards.

Gunter isn’t even on the roster anymore after the Packers cut him on Tuesday.

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Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers will need to figure out how to get more pressure on Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, who was pressured on only 12 of his 40 dropbacks in the NFC Championship game. On 28 attempts without pressure, Ryan completed 80.8 per cent of his passes for 315 yards and three touchdowns. Factor in a pair of drops and Ryan was accurate on 88.5 per cent of his passes when he was kept clean in the pocket.

The Packers need Mike Daniels, Nick Perry and Clay Matthews to step up on Sunday. Daniels and Perry combined for 11 pressures and three sacks in last week’s win over Seattle. A similar performance this week could go a long way towards disrupting the Falcons offence.

Green Bay held the Seahawks without a touchdown in Week 1. It was the first time since Week 4 of the 2015 season that the Packers kept an opponent out of the end zone. That won’t happen against Atlanta but Green Bay’s offence is talented enough that they could win this game if their defence at least slows the Falcons down.

For the second week in a row, the Packers match up against an NFC contender. Green Bay could improve to 2-0 with both wins against playoff teams from the previous season for the first time since 2007. It might only be Week 2, but the Packers could earn a measure of redemption and send a message to the rest of the NFL with another statement win on Sunday Night Football.