By Josh Katzowitz

Perhaps knowing that he’d make Aaron Rodgers inactive for the day, Packers coach Mike McCarthy said he wanted to see backup Matt Flynn perform even better than he did last season against the Patriots. He also said he wanted Flynn to win the game.

Flynn did him better than that. By completing 31 of 44 passes, Flynn threw for a franchise-record 480 yards and a franchise-best six touchdowns to lead Green Bay to the 45-41 victory against the Lions in what was a wild game.

Considering Flynn is a free agent after this season, it seems clear that he might have created a nice little free agent market for himself.

And if Rodgers, for some reason, gets knocked out of a game or can’t play during the playoffs, Flynn has proven that he can win a game against a quality team as well.

---

Follow all the Week 17 action live: Inactives | Scoreboard

1 p.m. ET games:
DET-GB | TEN-HOU | IND-JAC | NYJ-MIA | CHI-MIN | BUF-NE | CAR-NO | WAS-PHI | SF-STL

4 p.m. ET games:
TB-ATL | BAL-CIN | PIT-CLE | SEA-ARI | KC-DEN | SD-OAK

---

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter, Like Us on Facebook, subscribe to our NFL newsletter, and while you're add it, add our RSS Feed.

By Josh Katzowitz

Without the possibility of an undefeated season and with a No. 1 seed already locked up for the NFC playoffs, it was thought that quarterback Aaron Rodgers, though he might play a little today, probably wouldn’t go the whole way.

Now, we know for sure he won’t play at all.

That’s because Rodgers is among the Packers inactives for today’s game vs. the Lions. Also inactive are linebacker Clay Matthews, receiver Greg Jennings, running back James Starks, tackle Bryan Bulaga and cornerback Charles Woodson.
 
That means quarterback Matt Flynn will get the second start of his career, and it’ll be interesting to see if he can repeat last year’s performance vs. the Patriots in which Flynn played well and nearly did enough to beat New England.

“I’m not really trying to go out there and prove anything to anybody or the rest of the NFL,” Flynn said earlier this week. “I’m going to go out there and try to win the game. My job as the backup is to do my best to not let there be too much of a drop-off at the position.

“Go in there, execute the offense, move the chains and put points up. That’s my job, and that’s all it should be.”

As the Packers team website points out, Rodgers has officially broken Peyton Manning's record for the highest-ever season passer rating. Rodgers will finish the season with a rating of 122.5, better than Manning's 121.4 rating in 2004.

---

Follow all the Week 17 action live: Inactives | Scoreboard

1 p.m. ET games:
DET-GB | TEN-HOU | IND-JAC | NYJ-MIA | CHI-MIN | BUF-NE | CAR-NO | WAS-PHI | SF-STL

4 p.m. ET games:
TB-ATL | BAL-CIN | PIT-CLE | SEA-ARI | KC-DEN | SD-OAK

---

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter, Like Us on Facebook, subscribe to our NFL newsletter, and while you're add it, add our RSS Feed.

Do not get in the way of Mega and his money. (Getty Images)

By Will Brinson

Incentive clauses in NFL contracts are pretty standard business. But the one that Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson could unlock on Sunday is quite the doozy, as it's worth $4.5 million.

Johnson, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, needs to complete five of seven possible goals in order to unlock the contract. Those seven goals are: record 12 or more receiving touchdowns in a season (check), get in Pro Bowl and play (check), play in 80 percent of the Lions plays in the season and have Detroit wins 9 games (check), lead NFC in receiving TD (he currently does), lead NFC in receiving yards (he currently does), lead NFL in receiving TDs and lead NFL in receiving yards.

So to recap, Johnson has completed five of those goals (with the exception of playing in the Pro Bowl, though he'd probably get out there with one leg if it was worth $4.5 million) and currently has two more tentatively completed.


Johnson has 1,437 receiving yards on the season, putting him just 81 yards behind league leader Wes Welker and 79 yards ahead of the Giants Victor Cruz, who's second in the NFC. (He's also 129 yards behind Steve Smith for those wondering.)

Johnson's 15 touchdowns pace the NFC with only Jordy Nelson (12) and Jimmy Graham (10) also in double-digit touchdown receptions this season. (Rob Gronkowski also has 15 teeters, but he's in the AFC, clearly.)

Since we can pencil in the NFC touchdown title for Megatron, there's a very good chance he unlocks this bonus on Sunday. All he needs is to catch the same number of scores as Gronk or have Cruz stay within 80 yards of his total. In this scenario, 100 receiving yards and a touchdown likely lock down the bonus for Johnson.

And it will likely mean that the Lions will happily hand him the money and then, already heavily invested in the NFL's best wide receiver, try to get him even more during the offseason before Megatron gets to his first contract year, which should be a scary thought for NFL defensive backs.

---

Follow all the Week 17 action live: Inactives | Scoreboard

1 p.m. ET games:
DET-GB | TEN-HOU | IND-JAC | NYJ-MIA | CHI-MIN | BUF-NE | CAR-NO | WAS-PHI | SF-STL

4 p.m. ET games:
TB-ATL | BAL-CIN | PIT-CLE | SEA-ARI | KC-DEN | SD-OAK

---

By Josh Katzowitz

With the Packers already locked into their No. 1 seed for the NFC playoffs, I wouldn’t expect quarterback Aaron Rodgers to play the whole way Sunday vs. the Lions. And though it makes sense that Green Bay would want to play him some -- you don’t want the guy not to play for two-straight weeks -- it sounds like the Packers are pondering not using him at all.

“The most important thing with Aaron is he’s ready to play,” coach Mike McCarthy said, via the Packers official website. “Whether he starts, we’ll talk about that today.”

McCarthy, though, might have given a little hint when he said this, “I want to see Matt Flynn play like he did in New England, but take it a step further -- win the game."

Flynn, of course, is Rodgers’ backup quarterback who nearly beat the Patriots last season. He was ultra-impressive, completing 24 of 37 passes for 251 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, and though New England pulled out the win, I blamed the Packers coaching staff for its disorganization in the final half-minute and not Flynn.

Either way, Flynn, though we still don’t know that much about him, drew some trade interest in the offseason -- enough where McCarthy said he wasn’t letting go of Flynn -- and obviously would like to show what he can do against a potentially-scary Lions defense.

If he gets the chance to play, that is. Which, sounds like, he probably will.

“I’m not really trying to go out there and prove anything to anybody or the rest of the NFL,” Flynn said. “I’m going to go out there and try to win the game. My job as the backup is to do my best to not let there be too much of a drop-off at the position.

“Go in there, execute the offense, move the chains and put points up. That’s my job, and that’s all it should be.”





For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter, Like Us on Facebook, subscribe to our NFL newsletter, and while you're add it, add our RSS Feed.

Posted by Will Brinson

Every week, our NFL experts will hand out the Eye on Football hardware to the best of the best from the NFL week that was.

Week 16 NFL Awards
Expert	Offense	Defense	STeams	Coach
Freeman	Brees	Byrd	Janikowski	Schwartz
Judge	Brees	Grant	Akers	Coughlin
Prisco	Rodgers	JPP	Seymour	Coughlin
Brinson	Brees	Bills	Akers	Coughlin
Katzowitz	Cruz	Mayo	Seymour	Coughlin
Wilson	Brees	Bills	Janikowski	Coughlin

One. More. Week. It's terrifying, isn't it? Anyway, before we get to that, let's hit up the (slightly delayed) Week 16 Eye on Football Awards.

On offense, only one voter steered away from record-breaker Drew Brees and there's definitely an argument for Aaron Rodgers. But Brees breaking Dan Marino's record for passing yards in a season gave him the nod for the Eye on Offense Award.

On defense, the Bills defense as a whole picked up the Eye on Defense Award thanks to their evisceration of Tim Tebow and the Broncos.

Another record-breaker, David Akers, gets the nod for the Eye on Special Teams Award based on a tiebreaker in a three-way race with a pair of Raiders.

And Tom Coughlin nearly got the clean sweep for the Eye on Coaching Award with the way he handled his business against the Jets.

Leave your votes in the comments below or scream angrily at us on Twitter @EyeOnNFL.

Eye on Offense Award
Mike Freeman	Clark Judge
Drew Brees, QB, Saints Don't like how the Saints did it but Brees still deserves credit for reaching it. The record is more about perserverance than anything else. Brees was told he'd never make it this far. He wasn't good enough. He's too short. His arm is weak and he proved so many people wrong. That's the best part of this story.	Drew Brees, QB, Saints It's not the four touchdowns or the lopsided defeat of Atlanta that puts him here. It's breaking Dan Marino's record for single-season yardage. It took someone 27 years to make it. The least we can do is acknowledge him with this award.
Pete Prisco	Will Brinson
Aaron Rodgers, QB, Packers Rodgers throws five touchdown passes against the Bears to lock up home-field advantage in the playoffs and get the No. 1 NFC seed for the Packers. Can we give him this award every week?	Drew Brees, QB, Saints Didn't particularly like the way the Saints gunned for or celebrated the record, but that's on Sean Payton and Brees, and if the Falcons wanted to stop them, they should have. So give Brees his due credit for walking down one of the hardest-to-break records in sports.
Josh Katzowitz	Ryan Wilson
Victor Cruz, WR, Giants Cruz talked trash before Saturday’s Jets game and then backed it up with a 99-yard touchdown reception that was a marvel? It’s hard to believe that last season, Cruz was not even supposed to make the team. Now, he's one of the most exciting receivers in the game.	Drew Brees, QB, Saints Brees broke Dan Marino's 27-year-old passing record and was even accused of running up the score in the process. The accomplishment along with the whining from the Falcons makes him worthy of the honor.
Eye on Defense Award
Freeman	Judge
Jairus Byrd, S, Bills The Buffalo defender returned a Tim Tebow pick 37 yards for a score in a Bills blowout. I'll go ahead and resist the temptation to do a Tebow joke here. It's just really too easy at this point.	Larry Grant, LB, 49ers He starts for the injured Patrick Willis and finishes with 11 tackles, second best on the team. None, however, was more important than the last -- with Grant forcing a Tarvaris Jackson fumble that sealed a San Francisco victory and, in all likelihood, a first-round playoff bye.
Prisco	Brinson
Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, Giants Pierre-Paul had two sacks, three quarterback hits and four tackles. He was all over the field in the Giants victory over the Jets, which was critical to Coughlin's team staying alive for the playoffs.	Bills DST The Bills handed Tim Tebow his first-ever four-interception game and returned two of the picks to the house in a surprise beatdown of the Broncos. That they did it a week after giving up 200 rushing yards to Reggie Bush is all the more impressive/shocking.
Katzowitz	Wilson
Jerod Mayo, LB, Patriots As bad as the Pats defense has been this year, you have to give credit to Mayo for making a difference in New England’s comeback win against the Dolphins. Mayo recorded 13 tackles and his first two sacks of the season to keep the Patriots alive for a No. 1 AFC seed.	Chris Kelsey, LB, Bills This goes to the Bills defense, which intercepted Tebow four times (including two pick-sixes), but Kelsay had two sacks and was in the Broncos backfield all day.
Eye on Special Teams Award
Freeman	Judge
Sebastian Janikowski, K, Raiders Kicked the game-winner against the Kansas City Chiefs to keep their postseason hopes alive. I remember when Janikowski was nothing but the source of fat jokes. Now he might be the best kicker in football.	David Akers, K, 49ers Here's another guy who sets a single-season record, kicking 42 field goals ... with one game still to play. Akers had four in the 49ers' defeat of Seattle, with his last the game winner. I can't imagine where the 49ers would be without him. I know where Philadelphia is.
Prisco	Brinson
Richard Seymour, DL, Raiders He blocked two field goals, including the potential game-winner on the final play of regulation against the Chiefs. Oakland won the game in overtime to keep their playoff chances alive.	David Akers, K, 49ers Andy Reid was off on Akers career -- the Eagles didn't want to pay the man and all he did was kick the most field goals in a single season in NFL history (42). The 49ers don't have the season they're having without Akers being so steady on the special teams end of things.
Katzowitz	Wilson
Richard Seymour, DL, Raiders He was the Chiefs worst nightmare, blocking two field goals -- including the potential game-winner -- to keep Oakland in the hunt for a playoff berth and to eliminate KC. Even if his on-field temper gets him into trouble occassionally, the 11-year vet still has the ability to make big-time plays.	Sebastian Janikowski, K, Raiders Janikowski's game-winner in overtime against the Chiefs kept the Raiders' playoff hopes alive and the kicker finally got his first Pro Bowl trip this week.
Eye on Coaching Award
Freeman	Judge
Jim Schwartz, HC, Lions He exercized the ghosts of the pathetic Matt Millen by getting the Lions in the playoffs. It's quite the achievement by Schwartz in a surprisingly short amount of time.	Tom Coughlin, HC, Giants After listening to Rex Ryan and the Jets talk all week, he and his club respond with a 29-14 defeat that puts them one win from the playoffs. Not only did Coughlin outlast the Jets, he survived a sideline collision that had him limping. The Giants take a cue from their coach: "No toughness, no championship."
Prisco	Brinson
Tom Coughlin, HC, Giants With his team's season on the line, Coughlin led his team to a victory over the New York Jets. Coughlin has been good at getting his team ready for big games. He has another this week against the Cowboys.	Tom Coughlin, HC, Giants The only guy involved with New York football who refused to talk any trash this week? Coughlin. He let his team do the talking for him on the field, knocking around the Jets enough to create questions for Little Brother, and giving the Giants a shot at a division title and a playoff berth.
Katzowitz	Wilson
Tom Coughlin, HC, Giants Whether he’s on the hot seat or not, Coughlin still managed to keep his team level-headed in the face of a torrent of trash-talk from the Jets in a city rivalry game. The Giants just have to beat the Cowboys in order to take the NFC East title. It seems like people forget how good a coach Coughlin is, but on Saturday, he taught Rex Ryan a lesson.	Tom Coughlin, HC, Giants He began the week by proclaiming that "talk is cheap" only to listen as various members of the Giants called out the Jets. The difference between them and Rex Ryan's squad? The Giants backed it up Saturday. And if they beat the Cowboys in Week 17 they'll win the division.

By Josh Katzowitz

With the Packers having the ability to print their own money -- literally, kind of -- the team hasn’t had a problem raising cash for a $143 million project that will include nearly 7,000 extra seats and new video boards for the start of the 2013 season at Lambeau Field.

All the organization has to do, obviously, is offer more ownership shares of Packers stock, and Green Bay fans gobble them up like Halloween candy.

The stock, which doesn’t give its shareholders any power in the company (minus the ability to attend the annual shareholders meeting during the summer) or the chance to make any kind of profit, sells for $250 (plus shipping and handling). The Packers don’t have any trouble selling it, because, as the team announced Tuesday, the initial offering of 250,000 shares of individual stock will be expanded by 30,000.

That is how high the demand for the worthless* stock is.

*I don’t mean worthless in the nostalgic or sentimental sense. I’m sure it made a kick-ass Christmas/Hannukah present for a big Green Bay fan. I mean, quite literally, it’s worth absolutely nothing in dollars.

“The support from our fans has been outstanding and we appreciate their enthusiasm,” said Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy in a statement. “We continue to receive interest in the offering, and this increase in the number of available shares will help ensure that we are able to accommodate all those who want to become shareholders.”

In their initial Offering Document, the Packers announced they could have offered up to 880,000 shares, but that won’t happen. Instead, the team is looking to sell about 280,000 overall, and it’s offering the stock until Feb. 29, 2012.

So, if you want to pay $250 for a piece of paper, luckily you still can.

Photo courtesy of the Packers, who are selling their stock here.

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter, Like Us on Facebook, subscribe to our NFL newsletter, and while you're add it, add our RSS Feed.

By Josh Katzowitz

Not many people gave the Bears much of a chance to upset the Packers on Sunday night. Not with Chicago missing its first-string quarterback, starting a guy who was coaching high school football not so long ago, and playing a third- and fourth-string running back in place of Matt Forte.

But Chicago’s Josh McCown was more than solid, running back Kahlil Bell looked fantastic and Chicago played evenly with the Packers in the first half (and ultimately outgained Green Bay 441-364). But the Packers did what the Packers do and dominated the second half to finish off Chicago 35-21 and secure the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

Before we anoint the Packers an automatic Super Bowl team, though, they still have issues they need to correct. Here are three that the Bears helped expose tonight.

Run defense: It’s easy to talk about how (statistically) poor the Packers pass defense is (though Green Bay has faced the second-most pass attempts in the league this season, so the statistics look a little worse than they should), but the run defense isn’t all that wonderful either.

Without Ryan Pickett, who was out with a head injury, in the lineup, the Packers showcased a major weakness through the entire first half. Bell -- the Bears third-string running back -- looked like an All-Pro, gaining 89 yards on 14 carries in the first half (he finished with 121 yards). Last year on their run to the Super Bowl, the Packers allowed 114.9 rushing yards per game, ranking 18th in the NFL. This year, after Sunday’s game, they give up 114.4 yards per contest, ranking 16th.

Listen, that’s not terrible. But against a Bears team that was one-dimensional, starting a third-string quarterback, the Packers knew Chicago would have to rely on its running game. Green Bay just couldn’t stop it. Against most teams, the Packers offense doesn’t allow that to matter, but in the playoffs, when Green Bay could be facing a top-notch defense like the 49ers, this could become a major hole.

Week 16 recap

Playoff picture Judge: Coughlin’s NYG quiet the noise Freeman: Green Bay has cakewalk to Super Bowl Week 16 Judgements Brinson: Sorting the Sunday Pile MRI reveals Peterson tore his ACL Casserly: Minnesota put Peterson in harm’s way

Makeshift offensive line: The line actually played well vs. a Bears defense that boasts Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and Julius Peppers. Marshall Newhouse handled Peppers well, and despite missing left tackle Chad Clifton and right tackle Bryan Bulaga, the Bears garnered just one sack. But this is potentially a problem in the future, because you can’t expect Newhouse and T.J. Lang, normally a guard, to keep up that pace in replacing Clifton and Bulaga.

Besides, without the starting tackles in there, Rodgers looks to make quick passes or get out in space on play-action. If Clifton, who’s been out since Week 5 with a bad hamstring, and Bulaga (a sprained knee last week who might not return until the postseason) can be back for the playoffs, that probably would make Rodgers -- who was sacked four times in last week’s loss to the Chiefs -- feel better.

Running game: Twice, in the span of one series, the Packers running back busted up a play and forced Aaron Rodgers to scramble a few yards and then fall down to avoid danger. Once, it was Ryan Grant, once it was James Starks and both times Rodgers couldn’t have been happy.

Starks and Grant were basically invisible anyway. They combined to record 57 yards on 14 carries, and overall, the Packers run game ranks 27th in the NFL. Even if the Packers become the most one-dimensional team in the league, it probably won’t matter with Rodgers running the team. But if he struggles in the playoffs or gets injured, Green Bay could be in trouble.

But Clay Matthews made a good point after the game in regards to how these issues could affect the team in the future.

“When you have a quarterback like that,” Matthews said on NBC, “you’re allowed to make a couple mistakes.”

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter, Like Us on Facebook, subscribe to our NFL newsletter, and while you're add it, add our RSS Feed.

Kahlil Bell's set to start Sunday. (Getty Images)

By Will Brinson

Bears quarterback Josh McCown, making his first NFL start since 2007, won't be the only new face for Chicago against Green Bay on Christmas: running back Kahlil Bell is poised to get the starting nod as well, with Marion Barber expected to miss Sunday's matchup.

Barber, who averages just 3.7 yards per carry on the year, hasn't had the best few weeks: he piled up just 33 yards against the Seahawks in a Week 15 loss and though he went over the 100-yard mark against the Broncos, he famously ran out of bounds and fumbled in an overtime loss that caused Tebowmania to top out at a dull roar last week.

So maybe it's best that, according to the Chicago Tribune, Barber is "expected" to miss Saturday's game against the rival Packers. Going with a third-string running back doesn't appear to bother coach Lovie Smith either.

"There are bigger concerns I have, and Kahlil is not one of them," Smith said Thursday. "I vividly remember his first carry he had at Soldier Field. I see him every day in practice going against our No. 1 defense."

Bell's first carry was in 2009, when he ripped off a 72-yard run against the Eagles, a Bears record for the longest carry by a rookie.

"He can make you miss in the open field," Smith said. "He can run with power inside. He can catch the ball out of the backfield. I'm excited about the opportunity he has."

Bell's probably excited too -- Saturday will mark just his second career start, and since the Bears-Packers game is the only contest on Christmas, he's got a shot to make his mark in a big way. Over the past three weeks, Bell's seen 28 total carries and averaged five yards a pop on those carries.

Green Bay is above average in rush defense, but if Bell has a big day he'll give Chicago the best Christmas present of all: a chance to stay in the playoff hunt.


For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter, Like Us on Facebook, subscribe to our NFL newsletter, and while you're add it, add our RSS Feed.