The NFC playoff picture is coming together clearly already, with six teams completely eliminated from contention and the race for the Wild Card coming down to just a few other teams. Currently, the Packers
are back in the #7 seed with a 9-4-1 record, though they would vault back up into the #2 spot if they can beat the Chicago Bears on Saturday night.
The NFC South will only get one team in the playoff field this year; the division will go to either the Buccaneers or Panthers, who play each other twice in the last three weeks. With both teams at 7-7 now, that means that they cannot both pass up the Packers, so the division winner gets in and the other is out — it’s as simple as that.
In fact, there is quite literally only one team that can catch the Packers and knock them out of the playoffs entirely at this point. That team is the 8-6 Detroit Lions, who sit 1.5 games back of Green Bay with three to play. That means the Packers’ magic number for clinching a postseason spot is just two; any combination of two Packers wins and/or Lions losses over the last three games will result in the Packers playing in the postseason in some fashion.
Of course the Packers would love to win the division and get a home game. In fact, the #1 seed is still on the table, as are other seeding considerations if they end up in a Wild Card spot. So let’s look at the few games that have any notable impact on the Packers’ potential playoff slotting this weekend and why a pair of quarterbacks who are over 40 years old (yes, including that one) could both help out Green Bay.
Thursday Night Football: Rams vs. Seahawks
This one is a bit academic; the winner of this game takes a lead in the NFC West and will hold the conference’s #1 seed. They’ll also have a clear path to keeping it, by winning out.
However, the NFC’s 1 seed remains a mathematical possibility for the Packers, albeit an unlikely one. They will need to win all of their final three games and have the Rams and Seahawks each lose two of their last three (plus the 49ers need to lose one more game at some point as well.) That means that in tonight’s game, Green Bay fans should be pulling for a win by whichever team has a better chance of going 0-2 in their last two games.
That’s clearly the Seahawks, who face the Panthers (who, as detailed above, are in the thick of the NFC South race) and the 49ers in the final two games. The Rams, meanwhile, have the Falcons and Cardinals — two teams that are already eliminated from playoff contention. LA losing one of those two is unlikely as it is, but both? That seems almost impossible. Thus, we’re going for Seattle in this one.
Verdict: Seahawks
Saturday Afternoon: Eagles vs. Commanders
This only comes into play for seeding purposes if the Packers win the NFC North. Green Bay sweeping the last three weeks would clinch at least the #2 seed, but if they lose one of the last three while still ending up atop the division, they would fall to the 3 seed unless the Eagles (currently 9-5) drop one more game as well
Verdict: Commies
Sunday Afternoon: Steelers vs. Lions
Here we have the other truly critical game on the Packers’ schedule. If Green Bay beats the Bears on Saturday night, a Lions loss in the late Sunday afternoon window would seal up a playoff spot for Green Bay while knocking Detroit out of at least the division race. Detroit could still potentially catch the Bears for a Wild Card despite those results, but it would punch Green Bay’s ticket to the postseason.
It’s time to cheer for the weird old guy on Sunday to do the Packers one more favor.
Verdict: Steelers
Monday Night Football: 49ers vs. Colts
As mentioned above, the Packers need to see the 49ers lose one of their last three games to have a shot at the #1 seed — if San Francisco wins out and manages to win the NFC West, they would still be a half-game ahead of Green Bay. This one is pretty important, because Packers fans will definitely be cheering for San Francisco to beat the Bears in week 17, and they could play spoiler against the Seahawks in week 18 as well.
However, that last Niners-Seahawks game only really comes into play as helping the Packers in a few specific scenarios, and the best one involves Seattle winning this week and Philip Rivers leading the Colts to a win on Monday night.
Let’s get ready to cheer for a pair of old dudes this weekend.
