Packer Central

Youngest to Oldest: Where Do Packers Rank in NFL Playoffs?

With the Packers getting set to play the Eagles in a wild-card showdown, here are the average ages of the 14-team playoff field.

Bill Huber

Green Bay Packers safety Javon Bullard (20) celebrates making a tackle against the Chicago Bears. He is the youngest player on the team.
Green Bay Packers safety Javon Bullard (20) celebrates making a tackle against the Chicago Bears. He is the youngest player on the team. / Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – Last year, the Green Bay Packers rode the youngest roster in the NFL to a wild-card victory over the NFC East champions.

Can they do it again on Sunday?

According to Bookies.com, the Packers once again have the youngest roster in the NFL playoff field. The average player as of the end of the regular season was 25 years, 9 months and 6 days old. That’s only about a month older than last year.

The Packers’ opponents on Sunday, the second-seeded Philadelphia Eagles, have the fifth-oldest team in the 14-team field with an average age of 27 years, 3 months, 20 days.

The average player in the playoffs is 27 years and 6 days old.

The Packers are the youngest team in the field by about 5 months.

“Man, it’s just about doing your job,” receiver Jayden Reed said. “Age is nothing but a number. It’s about how you carry yourself, how you be a pro.”

The Packers have only one player older than age 30, kicker Brandon McManus, who is 33. Javon Bullard is the youngest at 22 and seven players are 23.

Last year, the Packers were young and inexperienced. This year’s team is at least somewhat experienced, with most of this year’s roster playing in the wild-card win over the Dallas Cowboys and the divisional-round loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Will that help the Packers on Sunday?

“Well, that’s a great question,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “I think every year is a new year. We’ve got new people and new pieces. I just think it’s about trying to not make the game bigger than what it is. Yes, it’s a playoff game. We all understand that. But this is the same thing that these guys have been doing for 18 weeks now and, really, their whole career.

“So, it’s another football game. Obviously, we know the margins are razor thin in this league, and you’ve got to be at your best when your best is required. And, certainly, against one of the premier football teams in this league.”

For Jordan Love, this will be his third career playoff start. Inexperience didn’t mean a thing last year at Dallas, when he smashed Bart Starr’s NFL record for highest passer rating in a road playoff game.

“Yeah, it definitely helps a lot,” Love said. “Gaining that playoff experience, having played in two playoff games with a lot of these guys in this locker room. It’s playoffs. It’s win or go home. You’ve got to be able to go out there and execute and take advantage of every play. You can’t really have mess-ups and mistakes.

“There’s no do-overs in the playoffs. I think this group understands that and, obviously, we got some reps at that last year, but got to go out there and play our best ball.”

Using a different metric, this year’s Packers are the second-youngest playoff team since 1970; last year’s team was the youngest.

Average Ages for NFL Playoff Teams

1. Green Bay Packers: 25 years, 9 months, 6 days

2. Denver Broncos: 26 years, 2 months, 17 days

3. Los Angeles Rams: 26 years, 3 months, 17 days

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 26 years, 9 months, 12 days

5. Los Angeles Chargers: 26 years, 10 months, 17 days

6. Kansas City Chiefs: 26 years, 11 months, 17 days

7. Baltimore Ravens: 27 years, 1 month, 20 days

8. Houston Texans: 27 years, 2 months, 25 days

9. Detroit Lions: 27 years, 3 months, 8 days

10. Philadelphia Eagles: 27 years, 3 months, 20 days

11. Buffalo Bills: 27 years, 4 months, 12 days

12. Pittsburgh Steelers: 27 years, 10 months, 18 days

13. Minnesota Vikings: 28 years, 0 months, 4 days

14. Washington Commanders: 28 years, 1 month, 2 days

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.