Five things the Packers have to be thankful for in 2019

The Packers are 8-3

If you’d have offered Matt LaFleur an 8-3 start to his head coaching career in Green Bay, I’m sure he would’ve been delighted. The Packers are in a two-team race for the NFC North and currently lead the way. They have a perfect 3-0 record against division opponents and are set up nicely for a late-season playoff push. While last week’s defeat makes it a long shot, they’re not yet completely out of the race for home-field advantage.

According to The New York Times’ playoff probability, the Packers currently have a 93 percent chance of reaching the playoffs. If they beat the New York Giants this weekend, that number will increase to 97 percent.

Even if the Packers were to drop into the wild-card positions, they still have a comfortable lead over the teams in the race. The Los Angeles Rams are seventh in the NFC but are currently two games behind the Packers. The Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles and Carolina Panthers are three games behind. Green Bay has the head-to-head tiebreaker over Carolina.

It would take a dramatic collapse in the final five games to drop out of the playoff spots entirely. At 8-3, the Packers in an excellent position as we enter the final month.