The Los Angeles Rams’ win over the Seattle Seahawks during Saturday’s NFC Wild Card Round ensured only two possible opponents for the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field next weekend.
The Packers will play either the Rams, the No. 6 seed, or the Chicago Bears, who face the Saints in New Orleans as the No. 7 seed on Sunday.
If the Bears win, the Packers will host the Bears in the NFC Divisional Round.
If the Bears lose, the Packers will host the Rams in the NFC Divisional Round.
The Packers are the No. 1 seed in the NFC and will play the lowest-seeded team left in the conference’s playoff field. The Rams’ win ruled out the possibility of the Packers playing the Washington Football Team (No. 4 seed) or Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 5 seed) in the second round.
The Packers swept the Bears during the 2020 season, including a 19-point win in Chicago during Week 17, but LaFleur’s team hasn’t played Sean McVay and the Rams, who beat the third-seeded Seahawks by a 30-20 final score on Saturday in Seattle.
The Rams finished 10-6 and second place in the NFC West in 2020. The defense ranked first in the NFL in points allowed and features first-team All-Pros Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey, although Donald left Saturday’s win with an injury. Quarterback Jared Goff is also dealing with a thumb injury.
The Bears were 8-8 and second place in the NFC North in 2020. The Packers held a 76-41 scoring advantage in the two meetings with Matt Nagy’s team.
The potential benefit here is avoiding Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in the Divisional Round. The Packers lost to the Bucs 38-10 in the regular season.