With the Green Bay Packers coming off an impressive (and emotional) comeback victory over Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 8 and a date with the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in Week 10, there was some concern among Cheeseheads that Matt LaFleur & Co. could easily fall victim to the dreaded "trap game" against the Carolina Panthers in Week 9.
And that's precisely how things played out at Lambeau Field this past Sunday, as the Packers saw their three-game winning streak come to an end in a 16-13 defeat. Now, we'll admit that calling this matchup a "trap game" is a bit insulting to the Panthers, as they came into this contest having just one fewer win than Green Bay. Nonetheless, that was the moniker most people put on it.
Trap game or not, the Packers simply didn't put forth their best effort in any phase of the game. The offense had zero flow (more on that momentarily), the defense failed to put any pressure on Bryce Young and allowed a season-high 163 rushing yards, and, of course, Brandon McManus missed yet another field goal.
But not all the blame can be put on the players, as Matt LaFleur looked more like a first-year head coach than a seasoned veteran with some of the decisions he made and the manner in which he was calling the offense (see, told you we'd come back to it).
With the loss, Green Bay dropped to 5-2-1 for the season, which is now officially at its midway point. Thankfully for the Packers, they still find themselves atop the NFC North, as they got a little assistance from none other than the Minnesota Vikings, who went into the Motor City and upset the Detroit Lions. Green Bay did, however, fall from the top spot in the NFC as a whole.
The Packers dropped from first to fourth in the NFC standings
Here's a quick look at the full NFC playoff picture heading into Week 10. Of course, the top seven teams (four division winners, three wild cards) will earn a trip to the postseason.
Updated NFC playoff picture
- Philadelphia Eagles (6-2, 1st NFC East)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-2, 1st NFC South)
- Seattle Seahawks (6-2, 1st NFC West)
- Green Bay Packers (5-2-1, 1st NFC North)
- Los Angeles Rams (6-2, 2nd NFC West)
- San Francisco 49ers (6-3, 3rd NFC West)
- Detroit Lions (5-3, 2nd NFC North)
- Chicago Bears (5-3, 3rd NFC North)
- Carolina Panthers (5-4, 2nd NFC South)
- Minnesota Vikings (4-4, 4th NFC North)
- Dallas Cowboys (3-5-1, 2nd NFC East)
- Arizona Cardinals (3-5, 4th NFC West)
- Atlanta Falcons (3-5, 3rd NFC South)
- Washington Commanders (3-6, 3rd NFC East)
- New York Giants (2-7, 4th NFC East)
- New Orleans Saints (1-8, 4th NFC South)
As you can see, the Packers, who had held the No. 1 slot in the NFC for several weeks, now find themselves in the fourth position. The top two teams, the Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, were both on a bye and each bumped a spot by default.
The Seattle Seahawks, meanwhile, moved into the No. 3 slot after improving to 6-2 with a dominant 38-14 win over the Washington Commanders.
As it pertains to the division, the Packers, Lions, and Chicago Bears, who earned a wild Week 9 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, all now have five wins, with the Vikings right back in the mix at 4-4. For those unaware, the reason the Lions hold the final wild-card slot is due to their 52-21 win over the Bears back in Week 2. The NFC North is easily one of the top divisions in football, and just like things went a season ago, this race is going right down to the wire.
With the Panthers now at five wins and sitting in the No. 9 slot, there's certainly a possibility that the Packers could end up battling them for a wild-card berth down the stretch, a battle Green Bay obviously loses now that Carolina owns the head-to-head tiebreaker.