Playoffs?!? Yes, Packers Take Lead In Playoff Race

When the Green Bay Packers sunk to 2-5 following a fourth consecutive loss, they were in position to earn the No. 6 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Playoff talk? Cue that legendary Jim Mora clip.

On Sunday night, the Packers didn’t just knock off the defending Super Bowl champions 27-19. With a third consecutive victory, they grabbed hold of the final spot in the NFC playoff race.

When the Packers were 2-5, the playoffs weren’t in coach Matt LaFleur’s mind. They’re not now, either, even after a fourth win in five games and a sweep of what appeared to be a three-game gauntlet against the Chargers, Lions and Chiefs.

“Nope. Nope. Nope. It’s one game,” LaFleur said. “Now we have another primetime game on a Monday night. The guys have got to understand, you start winning some games and people start gunning for you now. We’re a .500 football team. That’s where we’re at. That’s the reality of it.

“Yeah, we’ve had two pretty good back-to-back wins. But you’re only as good as your last game. I do know this: You better show up each and every week in this league. Otherwise, you’re going to get knocked off, because we see it every week. You’ve just got to put your best foot forward every time you get an opportunity to step on that field, and that’s what we’ll do.”

If the season were to end today, the Packers would face the San Francisco 49ers in a wild-card matchup. The 49ers are 9-3 and just crushed the first-place Eagles.

With Week 13 complete, the Vikings and Packers – two of four teams that are 6-6 – own the final two wild-card spots. Working in the Packers’ favor is their closing schedule: at the Giants (4-8) on Monday night, home against the Buccaneers (5-7), at the Panthers (1-11) and Vikings (6-6), and home against the Bears (4-8).

That’s zero teams with a winning record. The best team, record-wise, is Minnesota, which is playing with a backup quarterback.

Meanwhile, Packers quarterback Jordan Love was exceptional again. At one point in the second half, he had as many touchdown passes (three) as incompletions. He is tied with San Francisco’s Brock Purdy with a league-high four games of three-plus touchdowns and zero interceptions.

“Obviously, yeah, the goal is to make postseason,” Love said.

In what is set to be a five-week fight to the finish, four teams are 6-6 and two teams are 5-7. Those six teams lead the charge for the final two wild-card spots in the NFC race.

NFC Playoff Standings

1. Philadelphia: 10-2 (first, NFC East)

2. San Francisco: 9-3 (first, NFC West)

3. Detroit: 9-3 (first, NFC North)

4. Atlanta: 6-6 (first, NFC South)

5. Dallas: 9-3 (second, NFC East)

6. Minnesota: 6-6 (second, NFC North)

7. Green Bay: 6-6 (third, NFC North)

8. L.A. Rams: 6-6 (second, NFC West)

9. Seattle: 6-6 (third, NFC West)

10. Tampa Bay: 5-7 (second, NFC South)

11. New Orleans: 5-7 (third, NFC South)

12. N.Y. Giants: 4-8 (third, NFC East)

13. Chicago: 4-8 (last, NFC North)

14. Washington: 4-9 (last, NFC East)

15. Arizona: 3-10 (last, NFC West)

16. Carolina: 1-11 (last, NFC South)

NFL Draft Order

With the Packers in playoff position, that pushes them to 20th in the latest draft order via Tankathon.

Of note, the struggling New York Jets lost again to tumble to 4-8. The Packers have a second-round pick coming back in the offseason trade of Aaron Rodgers. That pick is slated to be 39th.