With just seconds remaining in their Week 11 matchup with the rival Chicago Bears, it looked as if the Green Bay Packers were set to drop their second straight game.
That, of course, didn't happen as Karl Brooks saved the day, blocking a 48-yard field-goal attempt from Cairo Santos as time expired, thus giving Green Bay a 20-19 victory and giving the Packers their longest-ever winning streak against the Monsters of the Midway.
With the win, Matt LaFleur & Co. improved to 7-3 on the season but failed to gain any ground in the NFC North as the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings each earned Week 11 victories as well.
Detroit upped its NFC-best record to 9-1 with a record-setting 52-6 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, while Minnesota improved to 8-2 with a 23-13 victory over the Tennessee Titans.
With the loss to Green Bay, which marked the team's fourth consecutive defeat, Chicago now sits at 4-6 and saw its playoff chances drop to less than one percent. However, this upcoming Sunday is one of those instances Cheeseheads hate, as they're essentially forced to root for the Bears, who will welcome the Vikings to Soldier Field.
Despite remaining in third place in the division, the Packers did jump up a spot in the overall NFC standings, getting some help from the Philadelphia Eagles, who took control of the NFC East with a 26-18 win over the Washington Commanders to kick off Week 11 on Thursday Night Football.
Let's have a look at where Green Bay stands heading into a high-profile Week 12 battle with the rival San Francisco 49ers.
Updated NFC playoff picture and standings heading into Week 12
Here's what the NFC side of the bracket would look like if the NFL Playoffs began tomorrow.
- Detroit Lions (9-1, 1st NFC North)
- Philadelphia Eagles (8-2, 1st NFC East)
- Arizona Cardinals (6-4, 1st NFC West)
- Atlanta Falcons (6-5, 1st NFC South)
- Minnesota Vikings (8-2, 2nd NFC North)
- Green Bay Packers (7-3, 3rd NFC North)
- Washington Commanders (7-4, 2nd NFC East)
As you can see, the Packers are now the No. 6 seed in the conference, switching spots with the Commanders, who dropped to 7-4 with the aforementioned loss to the Eagles.
As for the teams chasing Minnesota, Green Bay, and Washington for one of the three wild-card slots, that group is currently led by the three remaining NFC West squads in the Los Angeles Rams (No. 8, 5-5), Seattle Seahawks (No. 9, 5-5), and the Niners (No. 10, 5-5).
The Packers already beat the Rams in Week 5, so they'd win the tiebreaker there if things came to that. As mentioned, Green Bay takes on San Francisco this Sunday and will visit Seattle in Week 15 for a date on Sunday Night Football. So, getting wins against these two teams could prove critical as well.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 11, 4-6) are still alive and well in the NFC South race, given what's going on with that division, and the same could actually be said of the New Orleans Saints (No. 13, 4-7) at this point. As far as a wild-card slot goes, though, it would be tough for either to contend at this stage in the season.
And that applies to the remaining teams as well, those being the Bears (No. 12, 4-6), Carolina Panthers (No. 14, 3-7), Dallas Cowboys (No. 15, 3-7), and New York Giants (No. 16, 2-8).