5 biggest takeaways from Packers’ huge win vs. Vikings in Week 17

Win-and-in for Packers in Week 18

Rewind about a month, and Green Bay needed a miracle to make the playoffs. Now, the path is clear.

The Packers don’t need any help from other teams. In Week 18, just win.

Victory over the Detroit Lions will send Green Bay into the postseason as the NFC’s seventh seed.

It would be a tough challenge. Each playoff game would come on the road, starting in the wild-card round.

But the Packers have been there before. They entered the 2010 playoffs as the sixth seed, got hot at the right time, and eliminated the Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons, and Chicago Bears on the road en route to a Super Bowl victory.

After beating the Bears to begin their current four-game winning run, Green Bay was 5-8 and 10th in the NFC standings. The team needed to win out, with the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders losing multiple games.

It was seemingly impossible. Even if Green Bay somehow won its remaining games, there was no way enough teams above them would lose multiple games, right?

Wrong. Inconsistency in the NFC has helped the Packers, and their excellent four-game winning run clears the way ahead of their one remaining game at Lambeau Field.

In their final home game of the season, the Packers know one more victory sends them into the playoffs.