Packers depend only on themselves to make the playoffs after early week 17 games
The Sunday afternoon slate ended up being highly positive for the Green Bay Packers. The Seattle Seahawks and the Atlanta Falcons lost, which means the Packers now control their own destiny in the NFC wild card race. If Green Bay beats the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football and the Chicago Bears next week, they […]
The Sunday afternoon slate ended up being highly positive for the Green Bay Packers. The Seattle Seahawks and the Atlanta Falcons lost, which means the Packers now control their own destiny in the NFC wild card race. If Green Bay beats the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football and the Chicago Bears next week, they clinch a playoff spot.
The first slate of games hadn't been so good. The Los Angeles Rams struggled, but pulled off a 26-25 win over the New York Giants, and the Philadelphia Eagles surprisingly lost to the Arizona Cardinals. That meant the Rams would have to lose to a San Francisco 49ers team that has already clinched the first seed in the NFC.
But there was still hope, and the Atlanta Falcons lost to the Chicago Bears, 37-17. With that, the Falcons are not a factor for the Packers anymore — which is imperative because Atlanta has a head-to-head advantage after beating Green Bay in week 2.
And the second slate of games brought a gift to Green Bay. The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks 30-23. So if the Packers win out, they will finish the season ahead of the Seahawks, even if they beat the Arizona Cardinals in week 18.
NFC playoff race
The San Francisco 49ers secured the first seed. Meanwhile, with the Eagles loss, the Dallas Cowboys now have a front seat for the second seed — they just need to beat the Washington Commanders in week 18. If that happens, the Eagles will have the fifth seed.
The combination of results in week 17 made the Los Angeles Rams clinch a playoff spot. That means there's only one NFC wild card spot left. And the teams fighting for it are the Packers, Vikings, Seahawks, and Saints.
The Falcons still have an outside shot to make it to the playoffs, but they need a win over the Saints and a Tampa Bay Buccaneers loss to the Carolina Panthers to win the NFC South. The Saints also can win the division.
The Lions will still fight for the second seed, but they need to beat the Vikings and root for losses from the Cowboys and Eagles.
Packers defense catches a break before SNF
Dontayvion Wicks is inactive
