The Green Bay Packers clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC and guaranteed themselves both a first-round bye and homefield advantage throughout the postseason.
Matt LaFleur’s team could face any number of opponents in the NFC Divisional Round in a few weeks, but one team looks like the favorite: Mike McCarthy’s Dallas Cowboys.
Trying to predict the future in the NFL is often a fool’s errand, but a showdown with McCarthy and the Cowboys at Lambeau Field is certainly possible in the postseason.
In fact, nothing extraordinary would need to happen to make it happen.
Let’s say the Los Angeles Rams (vs. San Francisco 49ers), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. Carolina Panthers) and Dallas Cowboys (at Philadelphia Eagles) all win in Week 18. No guarantees there, but definitely possible. In this scenario, the Cowboys would be the No. 4 seed behind the Packers, Rams and Buccaneers.
The scenario doesn’t even require the Rams to win. Even if they lose and the Arizona Cardinals beat the Seattle Seahawks in the season finale, the Cowboys would be the No. 4 seed.
The idea here is that the Cowboys are very likely to be the No. 4 seed. And that’s important.
One more round of predictions: Let’s say all the higher seeds win in the NFC Wild Card Round. Again, no guarantee there. Upsets happen all the time in the first round of the postseason. But the home teams are division winners and are usually viewed as the favorites.
If this scenario played out, and all the higher seeds won, guess who would be coming to Lambeau Field for the next round? The No. 4 seeded Cowboys.
For obvious reasons, there would be no shortage of storylines going into such a game. And there’s no doubt that the Cowboys represent a real threat to the Packers’ Super Bowl aspirations, even though McCarthy’s team lost on Sunday to the Arizona Cardinals and gave the Packers an opportunity to clinch the No. 1 seed with a win over the Vikings.
Other options for opponents could include a rematch with the Cardinals, who lost at home to the shorthanded Packers on a short week, or the Saints, who walloped the Packers in Week 1. The 49ers and Eagles are other possibilities. It’s even possible that the Packers could face the Rams again. According to ESPN’s Playoff Machine, the Buccaneers can’t finish lower than the No. 3 seed, so they wouldn’t face the Packers until the NFC title game if at all.
The road to Los Angeles runs through Green Bay in the NFC. Will a familiar face to be making a return to Lambeau Field along the way? A showdown with the Cowboys is far from inevitable, but it sure looks possible, even not likely.