Just under a month ago, the Green Bay Packers were reeling a bit after taking consecutive defeats to the Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles, with the latter loss knocking their record down to 5-3-1 for the season.
Since then, however, the Packers have picked it up. While it probably shouldn't have taken as much as it did to take a 27-20 victory over the New York Giants in Week 10, a win is a win. They looked far better in Week 11 with a dominant 23-6 win over the Minnesota Vikings and followed up by completing the season sweep of the Detroit Lions to kick off the Week 12 slate on Thanksgiving Day with a 31-24 victory.
Despite the three-game winning streak and improving to 8-3-1, however, Green Bay failed to make up any ground in the NFC North, as the division-leading Chicago Bears had gone on a tear of their own, upping their own winning streak to five and improving to 9-3 with a Black Friday win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
As such, the Week 14 battle this past Sunday at Lambeau Field between Green Bay and Chicago was contested with first place in the division on the line, with the Packers ultimately prevailing by a score of 28-21, thus knocking the Bears from the No. 1 overall seed in the conference all the way down into the final wild-card slot at No. 7. But with the way things played out the rest of Sunday afternoon, Green Bay did not take over the No. 1 seed.
The Packers head into Week 15 as the No. 2 seed in the NFC
Here's a look at the entire NFC playoff picture heading into Week 15. You'll notice that only 11 of the 16 teams are listed, as the Atlanta Falcons (4-9), Arizona Cardinals (3-10), New Orleans Saints (3-10), Washington Commanders (3-10), and New York Giants (2-11) have all been officially eliminated from contention.
Updated NFC playoff picture
- Los Angeles Rams (10-3, 1st NFC West)
- Green Bay Packers (9-3-1, 1st NFC North)
- Philadelphia Eagles (8-5, 1st NFC East)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-6, 1st NFC South)
- Seattle Seahawks (10-3, 2nd NFC West)
- San Francisco 49ers (9-4, 3rd NFC West)
- Chicago Bears (9-4, 2nd NFC North)
- Detroit Lions (8-5, 3rd NFC North)
- Carolina Panthers (7-6, 2nd NFC South)
- Dallas Cowboys (6-6-1, 2nd NFC East)
- Minnesota Vikings (5-8, 4th NFC North)
As you can see, while the Packers currently sit atop the NFC North, they sit in the No. 2 seed in the conference, as the NFC West-leading Los Angeles Rams moved back into the No. 1 slot by improving to 10-3 with a 45-17 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
The Seattle Seahawks also upped their record to 10-3 with a blowout of their own, taking an easy 37-9 win over the Atlanta Falcons. The Rams currently hold the tiebreaker over the Seahawks, as Los Angeles won the first matchup between the two clubs back in Week 11, with the second set for the Week 16 opener on Thursday Night Football.
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As mentioned, the Bears fell six slots down into the final wild-card position at No. 7. The San Francisco 49ers, who were on a bye this past week, hold the same 9-4 record as Chicago but win the tiebreaker due to having a better record in conference games.
Things look great for the first-place Packers right now, of course, but they obviously have to continue to keep an eye on the wild-card race, as they could end up right back down among the bottom three as soon as this Sunday if they can't get past the Denver Broncos, who are currently the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
From there, of course, Green Bay visits Chicago for a Saturday night matchup in Week 16 at Soldier Field. And first place in the division and possibly the conference could be on the line that night in the Windy City.
The Packers then close the season with a Week 17 home date with the Baltimore Ravens, who are in a battle with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the AFC North, and then a Week 18 matchup on the road with the Vikings, who you know would love to play spoiler. So, again, things are good for Green Bay at the moment, but there is a lot of important football left to be played.