It would be easy for the Green Bay Packers to embrace their underdog role entering Saturday's Divisional Round against the Arizona Cardinals.

You can watch the game live Saturday on CTV at 8:15pm et/5:15pm pt.

It's been just three weeks since the Packers were laughed out of Glendale with a 38-8 loss, and the team's offence struggled throughout the regular season before seemingly finding their stride last week against the Washington Redskins.

“I am confident that we have guys and myself that, when it matters for all the marbles, guys will show up."
-Aaron Rodgers after blowout loss to Cardinals

But Packers head coach Mike McCarthy has refused to allow his team to buy in to the Vegas odds.

"We're no underdog going to Arizona," McCarthy said during his Monday news conference. "I don't care what people think or how we're picked or things like that. We're going out there to win, and we expect to win."

That expectation falls in line with the one quarterback Aaron Rodgers stated after the Packers' Week 16 loss to the Cardinals, in which he was sacked eight times.

"This was a playoff-style game and we played terrible," Rodgers said after the defeat, "but we have won a lot of games here.

"When you play long enough you are going to be on the wrong side at times, but I am confident that we have guys and myself that, when it matters for all the marbles, guys will show up."

It will matter most this Saturday when the two teams meet in a rematch of the Week 16 laugher in the Divisional Round.

The Packers are coming off an impressive 35-18 win over the Washington Redskins in the Wild Card round, but it remains to be seen whether the Packers have fixed their offensive issues, or simply took advantage a weak defence.

The Packers racked up 141 yards on the ground against the Redskins and passed for another 210. But the Redskins defence ranked 17th in points allowed during the regular season and ranked fourth worst in yards.

The dominant Cardinals defence will be a better measuring stick for the Packers offence, to see whether or not they've solved the issues that plagued the attack throughout the regular season.

Not So Easy This Time (League rank in defensive categories)

 
  Total Pts Total Yds Pass Yds Rush Yds Turnovers
Washington 17 28 11 20 8
Arizona 7 5 8 6 2
 

The Packers will also be without receiver Devante Adams, who appeared to be playing his best football of the season against the Redskins. Adams suffered a sprained MCL against the Redskins after hauling in four passes for 48 yards and a touchdown.

In Adams' absence, the Packers will likely look to add Jared Abbrederis and Jeff Janis into the offence. Abbrederis caught two passes for 14 yards last week, while Janis was kept to a special teams role.

While the passing attack will likely suffer without Adams, the offence as a whole could receive a major boost if starting left tackle David Bakhtiari is cleared to return from an ankle injury. Bakhtiari has missed the Packers previous three games, with three different players trying to fill his role. Don Barclay was roasted in Week 16 for four sacks and left guard Josh Sitton struggled against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 17. The Packers started centre J.C. Tretter at left tackle last week and, despite an early safety, he posted the best results of the three. Bakhtiari, however, would be a major upgrade at his natural position.

While the Packers are coming off a win that seemed to defy the direction their season was headed, the Cardinals are coming off of a demoralizing loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

The Cardinals had posted nine straight wins entering Week 17, but saw their surging offence slowed to a halt in a 36-6 loss. MVP candidate Carson Palmer was pulled at halftime with the team down 30-6, while the team was held to a total of just 27 yards.

A performance against the stingy Seattle defence is likely not a suggestion of how the Cardinals will perform against the Packers. The Packers defence ranks toward the middle of the NFL in most major categories and the Cardinals offence still ranks among the league's elite, well above that of the Packers.

Taking Flight (League Rank in offensive categories)

 
  Total Pts Total Yds Pass Yds Rush Yds Turnovers
Cardinals 2 1 2 8 17
Packers 15 23 25 12 4
 

An argument can be made the Cardinals have the most talented offence in the playoffs. At running back, the Cardinals lost starter Chris Johnson to a broken leg in Week 12, but rookie David Johnson stepped up to rush for 442 yards and receive for another 216 in the final five weeks of the season.

Receivers Larry Fitzgerald and John Brown both topped the 1,000-yard mark, while Michael Floyd finished with 849 yards. The trio combined to haul in 22 of Palmer's 35 touchdowns. The three figure to test to youthful secondary of the Packers, which allowed 329 yards through the air to Kirk Cousins.

The Packers could, however, receive a boost if cornerback Sam Shields is able to return from a concussion. Shields, the Packers' top corner, has missed the team's previous four games, forcing rookie Quinten Rollins into a starting role. If healthy, Shields will likely draw Fitzgerald in coverage, a tall task for the 5'11 corner.

If the Packers defence can hold up, they will give Rodgers a chance to keep the Packers in the game late. If that happens, as we saw in Detroit earlier this season, the Packers won't be an underdog after all.