GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Last month, an NFL scout said the toughest team for Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers to face in the playoffs would be one with an elite defensive line.
He pointed to the Washington Football Team as the prime example.
Washington bowed out of the postseason, but the Packers have to face perhaps the best remaining defensive front in the NFC in the Los Angeles Rams.
"You need a powerful run game and an elite D-line to beat Aaron," the scout said at the time.
Enter two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald.
Here's a look at the reasons the sixth-seeded Rams (who went 10-6 and beat the Seahawks in the wild-card round) are a good matchup and a bad matchup for the top-seeded Packers (13-3) in Saturday's NFC divisional playoff game (4:35 p.m. ET, FOX) at Lambeau Field.
Good matchup
The forecast for Saturday is a high of 28 degrees and a low of 16. The Rams will practice in 70-80 degree weather this week in Thousand Oaks, California. The high there will be 82 on Friday when they leave for Green Bay. This is why the Packers wanted home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Rams quarterback Jared Goff, assuming his surgically repaired thumb allows him to start, has not fared well in his two cold-weather starts. In games he started with the temperature below freezing, he's a combined 34-for-72 for 381 yards with no touchdowns and five interceptions. That's a combined passer rating of 64.58. He was especially bad in a 15-6 loss at Chicago in 2018 with no touchdowns and four picks in a 20-for-44 game for 180 yards.
This also was one of Goff's worst seasons as a starter, with 20 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Backup John Wolford started the playoff game against the Seahawks but left with a stinger. Rams coach Sean McVay wouldn't say which quarterback will start against the Packers.
What's more, receiver Cooper Kupp left the playoff game in the fourth quarter because of a knee injury.
All of that against a Packers defense that was much improved over the final month of the season.
Bad matchup
Donald posted 13.5 sacks in the regular season and had two more against the Seahawks before he left the game in the third quarter with a rib injury and did not return. McVay said he expected Donald to play on Saturday, and that might be all the Rams need to wreck Rodgers' rhythm.
He could be matched against perhaps the Packers' weakest link on their offensive line, right guard Lucas Patrick, although the Packers would surely use All Pro center Corey Linsley to help. Without left tackle David Bakhtiari, who tore his ACL in practice before the regular season finale, the Packers probably can't use Billy Turner at right guard. They moved Turner to left tackle after Bakhtiari's injury and inserted Rick Wagner at right tackle.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Donald split his snaps almost evenly during the regular season (329 at right defensive tackle and 346 at left defensive tackle). Even his defensive end snaps (75 at right end and 75 at left end) were equal.
Then there's Davante Adams and Jalen Ramsey -- a matchup of first-team All-Pro receiver versus first-team All-Pro cornerback. Adams caught 18 touchdown passes during the regular season. The Rams allowed only 17 passing touchdowns during the regular season, only three of those by Ramsey, according to Pro Football Focus.
Yes, the Packers have the NFL's top-scoring offense (30.8 points per game), but the Rams posted the league's top scoring defense (18.1 PPG).