How the Packers can still earn the NFC’s number one seed
4. San Francisco loses two
Following their last-second loss to the Baltimore Ravens, the San Francisco 49ers are just one game ahead of the Packers. But crucially, they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker after beating the Packers a week ago.
Again, let’s assume Green Bay wins out. It would then be guaranteed to finish ahead of either San Francisco or Seattle regardless of record, depending on which team doesn’t win the AFC West. But if the 49ers win their division, the Packers would need them to lose twice to earn a higher seed.
That may seem unlikely as the 49ers have only lost twice all season. Now they’d need to lose twice in four weeks. But their schedule is challenging, starting this week with a road game against the New Orleans Saints. They close out the year on the road against the Seattle Seahawks.
It’s a bit of double-edged sword here as the 49ers losing would help the Packers, but losing those games would mean the Saints and Seahawks would win.
The 49ers also have two home games: A meeting with the Atlanta Falcons and a divisional showdown with the Los Angeles Rams.
If San Francisco wins three of its final four games and wins the NFC West, it’d finish ahead of Green Bay. The 49ers need to lose two. Any two.
To summarize, the Packers need to win out. They need the Saints to lose one of their remaining four games, but importantly to an NFC team. Along with that, the Seahawks need to drop two of their remaining five games and the 49ers need to lose two of their remaining four.
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Making it all the more complicated is that the 49ers have games against both the Saints and Seahawks.
All the Packers can do is win their games and hope for the best. And with some luck, the NFC’s top seed could still be theirs.