Packers can achieve division sweep vs. Lions in Week 17

The Green Bay Packers have a chance to complete a division sweep in Week 17.

Winning NFC North games is the best route to the division crown, and that’s exactly what the Green Bay Packers have done so far this season.

The Packers enter Week 17 a perfect 5-0 against their division rivals with an opportunity to complete a season sweep for only the second time this decade. The last time was all the way back in 2011.

A win on Sunday wouldn’t just be the Packers’ first division sweep since 2011, but also their best overall record since the same season. Victory over the Lions would put Green Bay 13-3 with a first-round bye. The team went 15-1 in 2011.

It’s never easy to beat division opponents twice in a season. Win the first game and they have a chance to learn from what went wrong and enter the second meeting with a new game plan. But so far, the Packers have achieved that.

Oddly enough, the road game at Minnesota looked to be the toughest on the schedule, yet it’s the one the Packers won the most comfortably.

Here’s another strange statistic: Green Bay has turned the ball over three times in two division games this season, but won both games. The Packers were minus-three in turnover differential against the Lions and minus-two against the Vikings. That’s not often the formula for winning games, but the Packers have found a way this season.

Green Bay’s success in the division shows how far the team has come.

Over the past two seasons, they went a combined 3-8-1 against NFC North opponents. If they beat the Lions this week, they’ll have twice as many wins against the division this season than in the past two combined.

The division title is already secured. Winning this week would not only secure an NFC North sweep, but also one of the top two seeds in the NFC.