Packers will avoid Buccaneers, Cowboys in divisional round

We don’t know who the Green Bay Packers will host in the divisional round two weeks from now, but we do know two teams they won’t be playing.

With the wild-card round set in the NFC, the Packers will avoid both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round.

The Buccaneers are the No. 2 seed, the Cowboys the No. 3 seed. Green Bay will host the lowest remaining seed following next week’s games, which rules out both Tampa Bay and Dallas.

That means a rematch of last year’s NFC Championship Game will have to wait for the same round this year. And it also means a return to Lambeau Field for Mike McCarthy can now only happen with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.

Two weeks from now, the Packers will welcome either the Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, or Philadelphia Eagles to Lambeau Field. The lowest remaining seed of these four teams will meet the Packers.

Below is the NFC’s wild-card schedule:

• Philadelphia Eagles (7) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2)
• San Francisco 49ers (6) at Dallas Cowboys (3)
• Arizona Cardinals (5) at Los Angeles Rams (4)

If both the Bucs and Cowboys win, the lowest remaining seed would come from the Cardinals-Rams game.

How does a rematch of last year’s divisional round sound? A showdown with the Rams would be a lot of fun.

It’s entirely possible we could see an exact copy of last season’s playoff opponents. If the Rams defeat the Cardinals next week, they could very well be on their way to Lambeau Field for the divisional round, the same as last January.

The Buccaneers play at home in the wild-card round, and they would also be at home in the divisional round. Win both, and they could be on their way to Lambeau Field in three weeks.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Who do you want to see at Lambeau in the divisional round?