The Green Bay Packers haven't played a divisional game since the opening of the season against the Detroit Lions. Now they'll face three division opponents in a row, starting this week with the Minnesota Vikings.
With the Chicago Bears sitting at the top of the NFC North with a 7-3 record and Detroit not far behind at 6-4, the division is fairly open. Green Bay, at 6-3-1, can change that by going on a three-game run through the division, but such a task is always easier said than done. After all, the Packers did finish 1-5 against the NFC North last season, even with Chicago and Minnesota's roles in the division reversed.
Defensive leader Xavier McKinney stressed the importance of this stretch for Green Bay ahead of the Week 12 matchup with Minnesota.
Xavier McKinney sets the tone for Packers' tough NFC North stretch
"It's super important," McKinney said on Wednesday. "Last year, you know, we went 1-5, not where we wanted to be as a team in this division, and so I think this year, you know, we want to provide a new outlook of what type of team that we are."
"We've taken it very seriously," he added. "We know that we have a tough stretch these last however many games we have. The majority of them are division games, so we know we've got to be focused and locked in."
Five of Green Bay's final seven games will be in the NFC North. On one hand, it gives the Packers a perfect opportunity to cement a high seed in the playoffs, but on the other, it could also present an opportunity for things to go south very quickly.
Not too unlike the Detroit Lions last season, the Packers' injury report is growing longer by the week. Luckily, ahead of the Vikings matchup this week, Green Bay has at least received some good news concerning Josh Jacobs' knee injury, as the team hopes he will be able to play on Sunday.
Minnesota should be a favorable matchup in both meetings, especially with J.J. McCarthy's struggles in his de facto rookie season squaring off against a Packers defense that is starting to hit its stride in generating turnovers.
As for Chicago, it's been tough to tell if its 7-3 record and impressive defensive statistics truly make it a contender. None of the Bears' seven wins have come against teams with winning records, and with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, Lions, and the Packers twice, the Bears could crash back down to earth down the stretch if they can't prove their legitimacy.
Of course, the Lions remain one of the league's top contenders, even with a slower start through the first 10 weeks than the past two seasons. Nonetheless, historically, Green Bay is one of Detroit's primary sources of a sour Thanksgiving holiday.
But outside of those NFC North matchups, the Packers will also face two of the AFC's premier teams: The No. 1-seed Denver Broncos and the surging Baltimore Ravens.
To McKinney's point, this will be a defining stretch for Green Bay. Currently, the Packers have a 73 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to data from NFL.com. Should they beat Minnesota this week, that number rises to 81 percent. A loss will plummet them to 57 percent. Each week, those numbers will provide such drastic swings in their chances unless they can build up a winning streak against their divisional rivals.
Considering the Packers' recent losses to Carolina and Philadelphia, as well as the tie with Dallas, each of these divisional matchups will be crucial in Green Bay's attempts to not only win the division but also to secure a playoff spot.