Packers: Win in Week 3 would be huge for the playoff race
Victory in Week 3 for the Packers could make a huge difference to the NFC playoff race later in the year.
Priority number one is to win the NFC North. The Green Bay Packers have made the perfect start towards that goal with back-to-back wins against division opponents.
The next aim is to finish with the highest seed possible. That’s more challenging in a competitive NFC.
A way to increase your odds of securing a better seed is to defeat another playoff contender in the same conference. The Packers will get that opportunity when they meet the New Orleans Saints on the road this Sunday night.
The Saints will enter the game on a short week after losing to the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night. The Packers are flying high after another impressive victory to remain undefeated this past weekend.
It might be early in the season, but we can’t understate how big a win for the Packers could be this week. A win wouldn’t just improve their record to 3-0, which would dramatically increase their odds of making the postseason, but it would also mean the Saints fall to 1-2.
Again, it might be early in the season, but the Packers would have a two-game advantage over the Saints and the head-to-head tiebreaker. If both teams go onto win their divisions, the Saints would need to make up that gap to finish with a higher seed.
However, if the Saints win, both teams will finish Week 3 tied with a 2-1 record, but New Orleans would have that head-to-head tiebreaker.
With only one team from each conference earning a first-round bye, the competition is greater than ever in the NFC. And the Packers currently have competition from the Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, and even the Arizona Cardinals for that spot. And we shouldn’t rule out the San Francisco 49ers yet either, despite their awful luck with injuries this season.
A win on Sunday wouldn’t just put the Packers in a great position after three games, it would also give them a huge advantage over another NFC rival.