There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays or the Playoffs

The Packers are in the playoffs but that wasn't Matt LaFleur's primary goal

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Matt LaFleur, already the winningest first-year coach in Green Bay Packers history, on Sunday became the first to lead the team to the playoffs in Year 1.

“Yeah, I think it’s a good accomplishment. That was not our goal, though,” LaFleur said on Monday, a day after a 21-13 win over the Chicago Bears. “Our goal was to win our division. That’s still out there in front of us, so there’s still a lot work left to be done. I think more than anything when you think about the playoffs – and I don’t even want to think about it right now – it’s extremely important to us to try to get as many as we can in our own stadium. The goal is through the division.”

With the Saints hammering Indianapolis, the NFC is stuck in a four-team logjam with two games to go to decide home-field advantage and the first-round byes. Seattle, Green Bay, New Orleans and San Francisco have matching 11-3 records, meaning there is no margin for error for any of the teams.

For now, Seattle is the No. 1 seed. Here’s how it sorts out:

The Seahawks beat San Francisco, which knocks the 49ers into the wild card. They’ll meet against in Week 17 in Seattle.

The Seahawks and Packers have two conference losses while New Orleans has three, which knocks the Saints into the No. 3 seed.

The Seahawks have victories over San Francisco and Philadelphia, two teams that beat Green Bay, so they’re No. 1 and the Packers are No. 2.

The Packers have won three in a row but none of those victories earned them many style points.

“Obviously, we’re excited to be in but that’s nowhere near our standard or expectations,” receiver Davante Adams said on Monday. “We don’t leave it just there. We win championships here and it’s been that way for a long time.”

Playing a 60-minute game has remained elusive for LaFleur’s squad. A complete game might be a necessity against the Vikings (10-4), who are 6-0 at home this season. They’ve scored more points and allowed fewer points than the Packers.

“I think it’s just the same thing that we’ve done all year long, and that’s focus on the game in front of us and making sure that we put together a good plan for these guys and that our preparation is on point,” LaFleur said. “Because it’s not like there’s going to be any easy games the rest of the year. They’re all going to be tough. I think there are times, specifically yesterday, where I thought we played pretty well in stretches.”

A win on Monday night would give the Packers the NFC North championship and guarantee one home playoff game. A win at Minnesota and at Detroit (3-10-1) would give the Packers at least the No. 2 seed, a first-round bye and a home game in the divisional round. Clearly, the Packers would have a better chance of knocking off the Saints in a potential divisional-round game if the game is played at Lambeau Field instead of the Superdome.

“We’ve already played in some pretty tough environments,” LaFleur said of the trek to Minneapolis, where the Packers are winless in three games at U.S. Bank Stadium. “It’s comforting to know we’ve got, really, good veteran leadership that’ll help those young guys. But ultimately the goal is to go in there and win the game to help set you up for what’s in front of you in the future. We want to get as many games as possible in our home stadium. This is a tough place to play when you get late into the season.”