How Did Packers’ Loss to Vikings Impact Playoff Race?

The Green Bay Packers suffered a costly loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. Here’s the latest from the NFC playoff following Sunday’s games and with only Week 18 remaining.

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur during the fourth quarter of their game against the Minnesota Vikings. / Mark Hoffman/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

MINNEAPOLIS – The Green Bay Packers haven’t beaten an elite team all season. If they’re going to make a run to the Super Bowl, they’ll have to beat two of the best to start the playoffs.

The Packers’ 27-25 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, paired with the Washington Commanders’ 30-24 overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday night, moved the Packers to the seventh seed in the NFC playoffs.

Green Bay and Washington are 11-5 but the Commanders would win the tiebreaker based on superior conference record.

Unless the Packers beat the Bears and the Cowboys upset the Commanders in Week 18, Green Bay will have the toughest playoff road imaginable.

Packers-Eagles Rematch

The No. 7 seed will play the No. 2 seed. That would mean a Packers-Eagles rematch in Philadelphia.

The Eagles are rolling. They are 13-3 after blowing out the Dallas Cowboys behind backup quarterback Kenny Pickett. Philadelphia has won 11 of its last 12 games. The exception? Last week at Washington, 36-33, when starting quarterback Jalen Hurts was knocked out early with a concussion.

Saquon Barkley is running away with the NFL rushing title, Hurts is one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks and A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith are an elite receiver tandem.

The Eagles are seventh in scoring offense and third in scoring defense.

“I think there absolutely is a belief that we can win one of these games,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “We’ve got to go do it, bottom line. And we’ve got to earn the right to play these guys again. And it ain’t going to be easy. It’s going to be a tough road. But I think it’s a challenge that we’ll gladly accept.”

If They Can Beat the Eagles

The playoff brackets are reseeded after the wild-card round. That means the No. 1 seed will play the lowest remaining seed. Thus, if they earn a wild-card upset, the seventh-seeded Packers would play at No. 1.

Will that be the Lions or the Vikings? The winner of their game on Sunday will be the NFC North champion and the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The loser will be the No. 5 seed.

The Packers, obviously, are 0-2 against both teams.

Are the Packers at the level of any of the top teams in the conference?

“I want to say, yeah, but right now the story is we haven’t beaten those teams,” safety Xavier McKinney said. “So, I can’t sit up here and say we’re on the same level if we ain’t beat them. In order to be on the same level, you got to beat these teams.

“We got to be more on our details. We got to play cleaner. We got to start faster. That’s just what it is. We got to stop saying – it’s here now. It ain’t no, ‘Oh, well ...’ No, it’s here now. It’s just what it is. We got to be in the moment. We got to be present, where our feet are and we got to do a better job. Me, myself, got to do a better job of making sure we start faster and making sure we play cleaner and getting everybody on the same page.”

Six of Seven Spots In NFC Clinched

Only spot is up for grabs in the NFC. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lead the NFC South but the Atlanta Falcons remain in contention.

The three wild cards are set, though the order is subject to change. The Packers will need to beat the Bears and get some help from former coach Mike McCarthy to get the No. 6 seed, which would mean a wild-card game at either the Los Angeles Rams, who have won five in a row, or the NFC South winners. The Buccaneers, who have won five of their last six, are in the driver’s seat.

“We can beat everybody,” cornerback Keisean Nixon said. “If we figure out how to finish, we’ll win games. It’s playoff time now. It’s win-or-go-home. So either we figure out how to finish or we go back to the crib. We have to figure it out.”

The Packers are 1-5 against the NFC field. They lost twice to the Vikings and Lions and once to the Eagles, while they won at Los Angeles, though the Rams played without star receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua.

“Belief’s there,” quarterback Jordan Love said. “We know it wasn’t good enough in a lot of areas tonight. You know, off to a very slow start. Obviously, not putting up any points early on didn’t help us. But, yeah, obviously we know what type of team we are, and there’s just a lot of stuff to clean up.”

NFC Playoff Standings

With remaining schedules.

Top Seven Qualify

1. Minnesota Vikings: 14-2 (second place, NFC North)

at Detroit Lions

2. Philadelphia Eagles: 13-3 (first place, NFC East)

home vs. New York Giants

3. Los Angeles Rams: 10-6 (first place, NFC West)

home vs. Seattle Seahawks

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 9-7 (first place, NFC South)

home vs. New Orleans Saints

5. Detroit Lions: 13-2 (first place, NFC North)

at San Francisco 49ers on Monday, home vs. Minnesota Vikings

6. Washington Commanders: 11-5 (second place, NFC East)                                        

at Dallas Cowboys

7. Green Bay Packers: 11-5 (third place, NFC North)

home vs. Chicago Bears

In Contention

9. Atlanta Falcons: 8-8 (second place, NFC South)

home vs. Carolina Panthers

Eliminated

8. Seattle Seahawks: 9-7 (second place, NFC West)

10. Dallas Cowboys: 7-9 (third place, NFC East)

11. Arizona Cardinals: 7-9 (third place, NFC West)

12. San Francisco 49ers: 6-9 (last place, NFC West)

13. New Orleans Saints: 5-11 (third place, NFC South)

14. Chicago Bears: 4-12 (last place, NFC North)

15. Carolina Panthers: 4-12 (last place, NFC South)

16. New York Giants: 3-13 (last place, NFC East)

Latest Green Bay Packers News 

Here's my story on the #Packers' latest loss to an elite team, which might be the finest display of quote usage in the history of mankind. ⬇️https://t.co/8PsZoxcyhu

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) December 30, 2024

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