Morning Buzz: Packers sink Giants' boat

Aaron Nagler, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Welcome to your Morning Buzz, rounding up news and views regarding the Green Bay Packers from around the web and here at PackersNews.com. Grab a strong cup of coffee (or brew some tea, if that’s your thing) and get caught up on everything you need to know about the Packers.

Bob McGinn starts us off with his gamer from the Packers' wild-card win over the Giants.

From Bob:

They stymied Odell Beckham Jr. by throttling the run game with a light box. They also dominated the punting and return games.
That’s what enabled the Green Bay Packers to survive the worst start by their franchise quarterback in almost two months.
Then, when Aaron Rodgers started doing what Aaron Rodgers does, the fourth-seeded Packers rolled over the fifth-seeded New York Giants, 38-13, in an NFC wild-card playoff game Sunday at frosty Lambeau Field.

Julius Peppers had a turn-back-the-clock type performance against the Giants. Ryan Wood takes a look at the future Hall-of-Famer’s big game.

Michael Cohen has the latest on Jordy Nelson’s rib injury in his notebook.

The Packers' offense pretty much never recovered from Nelson’s absence last season. Pete Dougherty writes on how that might not be the case this time around if Nelson has to miss the Dallas game and possibly beyond.

From Pete:

My first thought when they took him to the locker room was that if they beat the Giants, their season probably would end in Dallas without Nelson. But as Sunday’s game wore on, there’s reason to think that might not be the case, as costly as losing Nelson would be.
What stood out as much as anything Sunday was that the Packers compensated for his loss much better than the Giants did for the loss of one of their three excellent cornerbacks, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who left the game in the first quarter with a bruised thigh and as far as I could tell played only one play thereafter, on kickoff coverage.
The obvious reason the Packers weathered Nelson’s absence better was that they had Randall Cobb to take over as their roving receiver who might line up outside, in the slot, or even nearer the tackles, depending on the play call. Cobb, back after missing two games because of an ankle injury, had a huge day (five receptions for 116 yards and three touchdowns), including the game-changing Hail Mary touchdown on the final play of the first half.

Aaron Rodgers started slowly against the Giants, but then turned it on and torched an excellent Giants defense. Michael Cohen has the goods.

LaDarius Gunter was quietly excellent Sunday:

I chatted with readers via Facebook Live after Sunday’s game:

Elsewhere, Emily Kaplan wrote an excellent game story for Sports Illustrated:

As did Mike Freeman for Bleacher Report:

Mike Silver wrote on Mike McCarthy for NFL.com, and it is fantastic:

Odell Beckham Jr. reportedly had a meltdown after the game:

Undoubtedly, the Giants superstar wide receiver knows he’ll have to spend the entire offseason dealing with stuff like this: