GREEN BAY – With last week’s loss to Minnesota, the Packers’ playoff scenarios have become a little easier.
Green Bay will receive either the No. 6 or No. 7 seed in the NFC and travel to one of three possible opponents in the wild card round: Philadelphia if the Packers are the No. 7 seed, and either the Los Angeles Rams or Tampa Bay if the Packers are number 6.
For the Packers (11-5) to earn the No. 6 seed, they must beat the Bears (4-12) and the Cowboys (7-9) beat the Commanders (11-5) in their Round of 18 matchup on Sunday at Lambeau Field . week, which will take place at the same time (midday CT kickoff).
Washington wins the tiebreaker (conference record) for the No. 6 seed if the Packers and Commanders finish with the same record. So if the Packers lose or the Commanders win, Green Bay is the No. 7 seed.
So if you want the Packers to get the number 6 pick, Cheer for Dallas to beat Washington.
Philadelphia is tied to the No. 2 seed, so if the Packers get the No. 7 seed, they will travel to the Eagles.
If the Packers get the No. 6 seed, they would face the No. 3 seed, which could be the Rams or the Buccaneers, depending on how their games go in Week 18. Los Angeles (10-6) has already won the NFC West and hosts Seattle (9-7). Tampa Bay (9-7) is still in contention for the NFC South title and hosts New Orleans (5-11).
Atlanta (8-8), which could win the NFC South with a win over Carolina (4-12) and a loss to Tampa Bay, can only secure the No. 4 seed and is therefore not a possible first-round opponent for Green Bay.
So here are all the possible scenarios related to the Packers and the upcoming wild card round.
Green Bay receives the number 6 seed and plays at the LA Rams if:
- Packers win AND
- Commanders lose AND
- Rams win OR Buccaneers lose
Green Bay receives the number 6 seed and plays at Tampa Bay if:
- Packers win AND
- Commanders lose AND
- Rams lose AND
- Buccaneers win
Green Bay receives the number 7 seed and plays in Philadelphia if:
- Commanders win OR Packers lose
The other seeds to be determined in the conference are Nos. 1 and 5, which will be crucial in Sunday night’s game between Minnesota (14-2) and Detroit (14-2) for the NFC North title.
The Vikings-Lions winner gets the top seed and the associated first-round bye, while the loser drops to No. 5 and would face the No. 4 seed, which could be the Buccaneers, Falcons or Rams.
