Atlanta Falcons

Packers at Falcons: Ryan, Rodgers and rings

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:28 p.m. ET

Fansided, Matt Verderame/Fansided

Narratives are often forced and misleading. They are necessary to bring in the casual observer, but they fail to pack punch and substance.

For Sunday’s NFC Championship Game, the prevailing narrative will be Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan cutting loose against each other in the Georgia Dome. It will be about Rodgers’ prophetic quest to run the table. It will also be about Ryan trying to reach his first Super Bowl in a year where he’s the likely Most Valuable Player.

All of those are obvious narratives. For a rare wink in time, they are the correct ones.

This game involves the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers. It includes more than 100 players and two coaching staffs who have been working their entire lives – and certainly the last five months – for this moment. One more win, and the George Halas Trophy belongs to them.

Yet none of that matters in the historical perspective. The only two men who will be severely judged by the result are Ryan and Rodgers.