Newly signed free agent Julius Peppers did little in his first regular season game in a Packers uniform back during a Week 1 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

There were no sacks. He missed a few tackles.

Maybe Peppers was still adjusting to new scenery, his new teammates, a new position, a new scheme. But following that season-opening disappointment, Peppers started to heat up.

In a span of seven games during Weeks 3 through 10, Peppers had five sacks. He also had two interceptions returned for touchdowns in Week 5 against the Minnesota Vikings and Week 11 against the Philadelphia Eagles, both blowout wins.

Then Peppers hit a wall.

During a five-game timeframe between Nov. 16 to Dec. 14, Peppers didn't come up with a single sack, culminating in a loss against to the Buffalo Bills in Week 15 when the veteran played a season-high 70 snaps (including special teams), arguably his worst performance of the season.

In hindsight, maybe it wasn't the best choice to give Peppers' his most playing time of the year coming off a short week of work after the Packers took on the Atlanta Falcons in a Monday Night Football game just six days earlier.

Apparently some within the Packers organization agreed. From Week 16 onward, Peppers has played no more than 37 snaps, all lower than his play-time totals from Weeks 1 through 15.

Perhaps not coincidentally, Peppers' production has increased as his snap count has gone down.

Following that loss to the Bills, the Packers more than cut Peppers' play time in half the ensuing week, keeping him on the field for just 32 snaps in a win at Tampa Bay. The linebacker responded, coming up with two sacks.

In the season finale against the Detroit, Peppers didn't record any sacks but made his mark deflecting two Matthew Stafford passes in the fourth quarter and was credited with a season-high five quarterback hurries, according to ProFootballFocus.com (subscription content). Peppers played just 35 snaps, ostensibly keeping him fresh for the end of the game.

Then in the divisional round playoff win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, Peppers made a momentum-shifting play, forcing a fumble by running back DeMarco Murray, one of 37 snaps he saw.

"I think Julius Peppers probably made one of the biggest, or the biggest, play in the game for us on the fumble," said head coach Mike McCarthy. "He had a sack/fumble, so he's making impact plays. Julius has been a great addition to our football team, both in the locker room and on the field."

Attention now turns to the NFC Championship game when the Packers travel to Seattle to take on the Seahawks, the site of their season-opening loss.

Just as Peppers' role has changed since that Week 1 meeting back in September, the Packers defense as a whole looks quite a bit different as well, and they're playing a lot better.

"Everything has been improved," said Peppers. "As the season goes along, hopefully you're getting better in all areas, and we have been. We're a better tackling team; we're more physical, more fundamentally sound. We're just an overall better unit. That last game was so long ago, it's nothing really to go off of from that game. This is a whole new year."

The Packers could use another elite showing from Peppers on Sunday if they want to qualify for the Super Bowl. The Lombardi Trophy is one accolade that has eluded Peppers.

It's no secret to Peppers, who played in the NFC Championship game in 2011—on the losing side of the ledger the year the Packers beat the Bears to advance to Super Bowl XLV—that his team needs some impact plays.

"It's a regular football game," said Peppers. "You got to have guys make plays, not only … you've got to have everybody step up. You need all hands on deck right now, and everybody making these plays at crucial times."

Brian Carriveau is the author of the book "It's Just a Game: Big League Drama in Small Town America," and editor at Cheesehead TV and its "Pro Football Draft Preview." To contact Brian, email [email protected].