Packers have a fascinating twist in their playoff scenarios that adds new drama to next week

Green Bay is fighting for an NFC North title, but for much more over the next few weeks.

Wendell Ferreira — NFL News Writer
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Dec 7, 2025; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) throws in the first quarter against the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field.
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The Green Bay Packers pulled off a monster 28-21 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Yes, it’s always good to beat a rival, and it’s good to jump to 4-0 against divisional opponents after going 1-5 last season. But no factor is more impactful than the NFC playoff race. After the win, the Packers moved up to a 95% chance of making it to the postseason.

“Yeah, it’s huge,” quarterback Jordan Love said after the game. “Obviously, we still got a couple weeks left here, but it’s all about finishing there. We’re here. We’ve been here before, but we’ve got to finish it. So it doesn’t really mean anything right now. But like I said, tonight was a huge win in going in the right direction going forward. We still got a couple more weeks left here. So we just gotta keep stacking.”

The funny wrinkle is that the Packers might root for the Detroit Lions next week, considering how the NFC race is. It doesn’t have a big impact on the Packers’ actual playoff chances, but it does have to do with what the Packers may want over the last month of the season.

NFC North race

The battle to win the division for the first time since 2021 is clearly going the Packers’ way now. According to The Athletic’s playoff prognosticator, Green Bay has a 69% chance of winning the NFC North, versus 24% for the Chicago Bears and 6% for the Detroit Lions.

Nonetheless, all three teams can make the playoffs at the same time.

NFC North playoff chances

  • Green Bay Packers 95%
  • Chicago Bears 68%
  • Detroit Lions 43%
  • Minnesota Vikings <1%

Next week, the Packers play the Denver Broncos. Then they have the Bears again, the Baltimore Ravens, and the Minnesota Vikings to finish off the regular season. At the moment, Green Bay has an 11% chance of getting the NFC’s first seed — and for that purpose, it would be better if the Lions beat the Los Angeles Rams next Sunday. If the Packers win out, they will have a 62% chance of getting a first-round bye in the playoffs.

If the Packers lose out, which seems like an extreme and unlikely scenario, they will still have a 21% chance of making the playoffs — a single win moves those chances to above 70%. Obviously, finishing strong is important, and having those postseason games at Lambeau Field would help the Packers to achieve their ultimate goal.

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