Packers rooting guide: 3 teams that can help their playoff push in Week 13

With three wins in four weeks, the Green Bay Packers are back in the playoff picture.

Believe it or not, Green Bay has a 55 percent chance of making the postseason, according to the New York Times. Not only have the Packers won games, but they have received help from other teams.

The Minnesota Vikings have lost two straight, including defeat to the Chicago Bears on Monday night. The Seattle Seahawks have dropped their past three games. They kicked off Week 13 with a narrow defeat to the Dallas Cowboys.

Green Bay has a favorable five-game stretch after Sunday night's showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs. The Packers need to take care of their own games, but their playoff chances will increase with some more help around the league in Week 13.

These three outcomes would help the Packers.

Which teams should Packers fans root for in Week 13?

Detroit Lions (at New Orleans Saints)

Yes, you read that right. The Packers should cheer on the NFC North leaders this week. Green Bay's clearest path to the postseason is via a wild-card berth, not overcoming a three-game deficit to win the division ahead of the Lions.

A team potentially standing in Green Bay's way? The Saints. New Orleans is 5-6 and in the mix for a playoff berth. The Packers hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Saints, should it come to that. But in an ideal world, the Lions hand them a seventh defeat on Sunday.

Atlanta Falcons (at New York Jets)

One team has to win the NFC South. The Packers would prefer it's the Falcons. Atlanta holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over Green Bay, but New Orleans does not. It's that simple. It's far better if the Falcons run away with the NFC South lead, taking them out of the wild-card race.

There's the added bonus of beating the Jets, as it improves the Packers' second-round pick from the Aaron Rodgers trade.

Cleveland Browns (at Los Angeles Rams)

The Rams are another team sitting at 5-6 and in wild-card contention. Green Bay also holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over Los Angeles, but it may not come down to that.

This is a perfect matchup, as the Rams take on an AFC opponent. Packers fans should root for the Browns, which would dent the Rams' hopes of securing a wild-card berth in the NFC. Los Angeles still has to play the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers, so a loss to Cleveland would significantly hurt its playoff hopes.

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