Can the Packers run the ball when the weather gets cold?  That was the question everyone was asking in the first half of the season.  Then along comes Ryan Grant.  Once again Grant brought balance to the Packers with a dominating game against the Oakland Raiders.  Grant finished with 156 yards with 90 of those coming in the first half.

That's what is most striking about this win.  Grant notched 18 carries in the first half and it was clear the Packers were going to attack Oakland 's soft run defense early.  While Grant got 18 first half carries, Brett Favre threw it 14 times.  Maybe the Packers wanted to prove they are still a cold weather team.  Maybe Mike McCarthy wanted to protect Favre a bit by not dropping him back so much.  Whatever the reason, Grant was asked to step up and he delivered.  By running the football strong the Packers controlled time of possession and were able to dictate the tempo.  It was clear the Raiders wore down in the second half and a 14-7 halftime lead turned into a 38-7 route.

Certainly I'm not going to overlook Will Blackmon's performance.  Blackmon showed earlier in the year that he can be a special teams demon and his two scores added another dimension to the Pack attack.  Oakland feasted on opponent's mistakes in wins over Kansas City and Denver .  In a game like this, protecting the football is key.  Blackmon pounced on the opportunity when Tim Dwight fumbled a punt return in the third quarter.  Defensively the Packers picked off Josh McCown twice.  The Packers took advantage of those mistakes and never let Oakland in the game in the second half.

The Packers were firing on all cylinders today and in doing so have wrapped up the NFC North.  Now they can focus on securing a first round bye on the road to the Super Bowl.