Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) rolls out of the pocket to pass in the second quarter of the NFC Wild Card playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field. (Photo: Andrew Weber, USA TODAY Sports) GREEN BAY, Wis. – It's too late to cast official ballots for the NFL's most valuable player award, but here, on a frigid night at Lambeau Field, was a reminder that this is most certainly a quarterback's league. The Green Bay Packers most certainly have one, in Aaron Rodgers, who led the Packers to a 24-10 win against the Minnesota Vikings, whose starting quarterback Christian Ponder watched the game from the sidelines after a sore right elbow forced him to miss his first playoff career start. BOX SCORE: Packers 24, Vikings 10 Ponder's backup, Joe Webb, provided no threat of a passing game, with his passes either bouncing short, or sailing well over his receivers' heads, and that left Green Bay's defense free to focus on Adrian Peterson. Peterson, who buoyed his MVP candidacy with 409 rushing yards in two previous games against Green Bay, managed just 99 yards. With the win, the Packers advance to face No. 2 seed San Francisco at Candlestick Park on Saturday, with the winner of that game moving on to the NFC Championship game. It's a chance for Rodgers to return home to northern California, and play the team he still believes snubbed in him the 2005 draft. Rodgers will bring with him not just a healthy group of wide receivers but an unusually stout running game. DuJuan Harris, a second-year back who didn't sign with the Packers until Dec. 1, scored the game's first touchdown, and fullback John Kuhn scored the next two, one on a three-yard run, and another on a nine-yard pass from Rodgers in the third quarter. Webb, meanwhile, led just one scoring drive, and it came on the game's opening drive. The Vikings called eight consecutive running plays, six for Peterson, but the drive stalled when Webb's first passing attempt fell incomplete. The Vikings, who beat Green Bay last week to clinch the final playoff spot in the NFC, took a 3-0 lead on a field goal from Blair Walsh, but that was as good as it would get. The Vikings' quarterback switch likely caught the Packers by surprise. Though Ponder was listed as limited in practice all week for the Vikings with what was at first described as a bruised shoulder, it wasn't until Saturday that there was serious concern that he wouldn't be able to play. PHOTOS: VIKINGS VS. PACKERS Ponder, who played his best game his two-year career a week ago, made about a dozen soft, short throws about three hours before kickoff, at which point Vikings doctors and coaches officially made the switch to Webb, who didn't attempt a pass all season and hadn't started a game since late 2010, when as a rookie he replaced an injured Brett Favre. Webb proved elusive as a scrambler (68 yards on 7 carries) but appeared lost as a passer. Webb completed only 9 of 27 throws for 127 yards, threw one interception and lost a fumble on a sack by Clay Matthews. He threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins with less than four minutes remaining. Webb's issues left little room for Peterson, who had only 69 yards through three quarterback, at which point the Vikings already trailed 24-3. He picked up his final 30 yards in the fourth quarter. The Packers' large lead appeared to give a Green Bay defense that was reeling a week ago after Peterson's 199-yard game a boost. The Packers sacked Webb three times, and seemed to benefit from the aggressive tackling of defensive back Charles Woodson, who returned for the first time since breaking his collarbone on Oct. 21. Story Highlights
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Source : http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/playoffs/2013/01/05/green-bay-packers-minnesota-vikings/1811675/