How the Falcons can help the Packers earn a surprising playoff berth

Believe it or not, the Green Bay Packers are actually in the NFC playoff hunt. After the Packers' Thanksgiving Day victory over the Detroit Lions, Matt LaFleur's squad sits at 5-6 and currently occupy the eighth spot in the NFC playoff picture.

With only seven playoff spots available, the Packers are currently on the outside looking in. However, with a relatively weak schedule down the stretch, there's reason to believe that Green Bay could make a late-season push for the postseason.

After this week's difficult matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs, the Packers face the New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Vikings, and Chicago Bears. Only Minnesota is at or above .500 on the season.

Why Packers fans should be cheering for Falcons to win NFC South

The Green Bay Packers are not the only NFC team sitting at 5-6. Joining them are the Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, and Los Angeles Rams.

The Packers own the head-to-head tiebreaker over both the Saints and the Rams. But, thanks to an unfortunate one-point loss to the Falcons in Week 2, Green Bay does not own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Atlanta.

Somebody's going to win the NFC South and get what's likely to be the No. 4 seed in the playoffs. Since Atlanta holds the tiebreaker over Green Bay, Packers fans should be cheering for the Falcons to keep on winning.

If the Saints overtake the Falcons in the NFC South, it brings the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Packers back into play. The Green Bay faithful would be best served if Atlanta just ran away with the division in the coming weeks.

What didn't seem possible last month is certainly in play now - the Green Bay Packers are in the playoff hunt. But the Packers could use every advantage they can get, and that starts with seeing the Falcons win the NFC South.

More Packers news and analysis