Packers: Five teams to root for in Week 15 as playoffs near

2. Indianapolis Colts (at Saints)

Entering Week 15, the Packers will be guaranteed the No. 2 seed by winning out. But that won’t be easy. Instead, they may need the Saints to slip up at some point. And there’s no better time than the present. New Orleans lost to San Francisco a week ago, and another home loss here would set the Saints back in their hopes of getting a week off in January.

According to FiveThirtyEight’s calculations, a Packers win and Saints loss this week would improve Green Bay’s chances of a first-round bye to 70 percent. That’s almost double its percentage entering this weekend’s games.

New Orleans’ schedule is favorable the rest of the way, and winning out might be enough to secure a top-two seed.

Not only would getting a bye ahead of the Saints give the Packers an extra week off and a home game in the divisional round, but it’d ensure they wouldn’t have to play at the Superdome in the playoffs. The crowd noise makes it a challenging place to play for visiting teams.

The Packers currently control their destiny when it comes to a first-round bye. That’s all you can ask for. But a Colts win would make life that little bit easier for Matt LaFleur’s team.