Powerful NFC North Puts Packers Behind in NFC Playoff Chase

Is it too early to look at the NFC playoff picture? Perhaps. But it’s not too early to look at the historic start of the NFC North and what it could mean for the Green Bay Packers.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) passes the ball against the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 29. / Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Everyone knew the NFC North was going to be tough because of the talent at quarterback. Through five weeks, the degree of difficulty has become clear.

With the Minnesota Vikings at 5-0, the Detroit Lions at 3-1 and the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears at 3-2, the NFC North is the first division since the NFC West in 2012 in which all four teams have three-plus wins through Week 5.

By tiebreaker, the Packers are in last place in the NFC North. Thus, they can’t afford to give away any winnable games, such as last week’s victory over the injury-plagued Los Angeles Rams and this week’s home game against the Arizona Cardinals.

Against the Rams, Jordan Love’s pick-six put the Packers in a 13-7 hole. But Love led the Packers to a field goal before halftime, and back-to-back takeaways were turned into back-to-back touchdown catches by Tucker Kraft.

“You can talk about it until you’re blue in the face,” coach Matt LaFleur said after the team’s come-from-behind victory over the Rams. 

“That’s the mindset you have to have, whether it’s in football or in life. There’s going to be some things that happen to you that are out of your control and all you can do and the only thing you can control is how you respond to everything.”

Part of that was Love completing nine consecutive passes with two touchdowns after throwing the interception.

“I think that that’s one of his superpowers,” LaFleur said. “We’ve seen it from the day he got drafted. He just doesn’t blink when the pressure comes, and I think last year was pretty indicative of that.

“When you get a bunch of tough-minded guys, I think that kind of just manifests itself and it’s contagious.”

NFL Division Records

With Detroit on its bye, the rest of the NFC North teams won their games on Sunday, moving the division to 14-5 – the best record in the NFL by two games.

NFC North: 14-5

AFC West: 12-7

NFC East: 11-8

NFC South: 9-11

AFC South: 8-11

NFC West: 8-12

AFC East: 8-12

AFC North: 8-12

Could the NFC North sweep again? According to DraftKings, the Packers are 5-point favorites over the Cardinals (2-3), the Bears are 2.5-point favorites over the Jaguars (1-4) and the Lions are 3-point favorites over the Cowboys (3-2). The Vikings are on their bye.

NFC Playoff Standings

With five games down and 12 to go, there’s a lot of football left to be played. Nonetheless, the NFC appears to be the superior conference. Nine of the teams have winning records while only six have losing records. Only one off the AFC’s four division has a winning record.

The Packers are in ninth place in the NFC, meaning on the outside looking in at the playoff race. Their two losses are to NFC foes, the Eagles and Vikings, which hurts – and will continue to hurt – them in potential end-of-season tiebreakers.

Here are the playoff standings.

1. Minnesota Vikings: 5-0 (first place, NFC North)

2. Washington Commanders: 4-1 (first place, NFC East)

3. Atlanta Falcons: 3-2 (first place, NFC South)

4. Seattle Seahawks: 3-2 (first place, NFC West)

5. Detroit Lions: 3-1 (second place, NFC North)

6. Chicago Bears: 3-2 (third place, NFC North)

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 3-2 (second place, NFC South)

8. Dallas Cowboys: 3-2 (second place, NFC East)

9. Green Bay Packers: 3-2 (fourth place, NFC North)

10. Philadelphia Eagles: 2-2 (third place, NFC East)

11. New Orleans Saints: 2-3 (third place, NFC South)

12. Arizona Cardinals: 2-3 (second place, NFC West)

13. New York Giants: 2-3 (fourth place, NFC East)

14. San Francisco 49ers: 2-3 (third place, NFC West)

15. Los Angeles Rams: 1-4 (fourth place, NFC West)

16. Carolina Panthers: 1-4 (fourth place, NFC South)

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Here's where things stand for the #Packers (and Cardinals) after Week 5. ⬇️https://t.co/oobghLqepp

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 8, 2024

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