Seattle has held Cam Newton to one touchdown in three games since 2012. What has been the key to that?

Seahawks beat writer Terry Blount: Newton shouldn't feel too bad. The Seahawks have made a lot of very good QBs look bad the past couple of years -- Peyton Manning in the Super Bowl and Aaron Rodgers this year in the season opener, to name two. But the biggest thing is they've done what I'm sure the Panthers want to do to Russell Wilson -- cut off his running lanes and force Newton to beat them throwing. Newton had 12 carries for only 24 yards in the game at Charlotte earlier this season. Forcing any QB to beat them just by passing is a chore against the No. 1 pass defense in the NFL, which has three Pro Bowlers in Chancellor, Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas.

Newton has averaged 146 passing yards and 35 rushing yards in his last three games against Seattle. He has thrown one touchdown pass and one interception (total) in those three games. Daily fantasy players should look elsewhere for a strong quarterback play.

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers returned to the practice field for the first time since re-injuring his calf on Dec. 28 against Detroit, and during the team’s 11-on-11 work on Thursday, he took 50 to 60 percent of the snaps, according to Mike McCarthy.

“Aaron practiced in the team periods. He looked good,” McCarthy said. “He went down and did everything we asked him to do today. It’s always a better practice when he’s out there.”

The 50-60 percent was the target McCarthy set for Rodgers. He was officially listed as limited on the injury report.

According to Adam Schefter, Rodgers is dealing with a "slight tear" in addition to a "significant strain" in his calf. While it is worrisome that Rodgers hasn't practiced until today, he should be able to play at a high level against the Cowboys since he finished the game against the Lions and has 10 days of treatment and rest for his sore calf.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, dealing with an injured left calf, will be examined by Packers physician Dr. Patrick McKenzie on Wednesday. The Packers expect Rodgers to be cleared for at least limited participation in practice on Thursday, the most important day of the week for the offense.

Coach Mike McCarthy is not concerned about Rodgers not having a full amount of practice time this week. In 2008, his first season as a starter, Rodgers played despite not practicing for a month because of a shoulder injury. Since then, McCarthy said, Rodgers has been able to prepare despite missing practices.

Rodgers has played pretty well in the last two games after he put up a "stinker" against Buffalo in Week 15. That loss has put the Packers in a situation where they may have to go on the road (to Seattle) for the NFC Championship Game, but they have to beat a hot Dallas Cowboys team first. Rodgers should be ready to go after getting nearly two weeks of rest.

Even with three days off this week, there's a good chance Aaron Rodgers won't be ready to practice when the Green Bay Packers reconvene on Friday.

Rodgers said Tuesday on his ESPN Milwaukee radio show that he has been getting treatment on his injured left calf muscle "around the clock" and indicated he may not practice until next week.

"I'm going to want to get some on-the-field reps starting next week when we get into our preparation when we figure out who our opponent is," Rodgers said on his show. "So I'm going to need to be on the field doing that, but it's a significant injury so you can't really say either way what percentage it's going to be in the game. I just don't know. But I hope it's going to be feeling better than it was this weekend."

Because they have the bye and don't play until Jan. 11 in the divisional round of the playoffs, the Packers won't have to file an official injury report until next week, so there's a good chance they will be vague about Rodgers' participation in practice on Friday and Saturday.

The Detroit Lions and Ndamukong Suh have been informed that the defensive tackle will be suspended for Sunday's wild-card playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys.

Suh's punishment comes a day after he stepped on the leg of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Suh "unnecessarily stepped on [the] opponent's unprotected leg as he lay on the ground unable to protect himself," according to a statement released by the NFL.

Lions center Dominic Raiola, who himself returned from a one-game suspension Monday, defended Suh's actions.

"He was getting pushed back, you know," Raiola said. "... There's no way at that point in the game that he did something like that on purpose."

Lions safety James Ihedigbo said missing Suh will create a large void on defense.

"I don't know if you can put it into words," Ihedigbo said. "He's a dominant force in our defense. He's kind of the key centerpiece. We have faith in guys that can step up and fill that void and do the best job they can to get this win and help us out.

Packers beat writer Rob Demovsky on the team's willingness to stick with the run against the Lions:

Coach Mike McCarthy isn't going to bang his head against the wall and run, run, run if it's not working. If you think that means he's too quick to abandon the running game, then so be it. So it probably will depend on how Eddie Lacy fares early. If Lacy can rip off a few good runs in the first couple of series, like he has done of late, McCarthy might be more inclined to go back to it later. But here's one thing to look for: If Aaron Rodgers ends up throwing a bunch of dump-off passes or screens, it's probably a sign they don't think they can run the ball, so they'll use the short passing game to simulate the run. There's no shame in admitting you can't run the ball against the Lions. Who has this season?

Lacy has proven that he has the ability to make plays in the passing game, so his owners shouldn't bench him due to an unfavorable matchup. Just don't expect a 100-yard day against a great Lions rush defense that is yielding just 63.8 yards on the ground.

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers (calf) practicing Tuesday.

Hard to imagine there's any chance Rodgers misses this contest, a game with the Lions at home that will determine the NFC North Division.

Aaron Rodgers was stunned that he pulled a calf muscle in his left leg early in Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He figured all the liquids he drank to combat the flu in the days before the game would've protected him from any muscle pulls.

Aaron Rodgers says he suffered a calf injury early during the Packers' win Sunday, but does not think it will be a factor going forward. But Rodgers felt it on the second series of the Green Bay Packers' 20-3 win on Sunday, and it impacted him the rest of the game.

"I battled the flu the last couple of days pretty bad, and that's why I was surprised I hurt my calf because I hydrated like no other," Rodgers said. "I had a great hydration test this week and was drinking a ton of water before the game. Unfortunately the calf kind of gave up on me there."

Rodgers walked out of the locker room slowly on Sunday afternoon after the game but did not think the injury would be a factor in next Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field, where the NFC North title will be decided. Rodgers said: "It's too early to give a 100 percent guarantee, but it would definitely take a lot to hold me out of that game."