If the season ended today, the Green Bay Packers would qualify for the postseason as the No. 7 seed and go to Dallas to play Mike McCarthy and the No. 2 Cowboys in the wildcard round of the NFC playoffs.
One more test awaits before the Packers can punch their ticket to the postseason.
Matt LaFleur’s team is entering the season finale next week against the Chicago Bears with several potential scenarios available. The biggest thing: the Packers can clinch a playoff spot with a win.
A few important things to know right away:
— The Packers will be the No. 7 seed if the Packers beat the Bears and the Rams beat the 49ers.
— The Packers will be the No. 6 seed if the Packers beat the Bears and the 49ers beat the Rams.
— The 49ers have already clinched the No. 1 seed and will have a first-round bye.
— The winner of the NFC South (Buccaneers, Saints or Falcons) is locked in as the No. 4 seed.
— Both the Cowboys and Eagles have clinched a playoff spot. The NFC East champion has not been decided.
— The Detroit Lions clinched the NFC North title and will either be the No. 2 or No. 3 seed.
A few playoff scenarios to consider:
— If the Packers are the No. 7 seed, they will face either the Cowboys, Eagles or Lions in the wildcard round.
— If the Packers are the No. 6 seed, they will face either the Cowboys or Lions in the wildcard round. The Eagles have no path to the No. 3 seed; they will be the No. 2 or No. 5 seed.
Need to see all the potential combinations in the NFC? Ivan Urena has all 256 here:
Week 18 NFC Seeding Possibilities (256 combinations): @JoeNFL @NFLScenarios pic.twitter.com/mTHsCtr9W3
— Ivan Urena (@Ivan_Urena1) January 1, 2024
The most common matchup for the Packers among the possibilities is facing the Cowboys as the No. 7 seed.
Also, the Packers can still make the playoffs with a loss to the Bears, but it’s a very uncommon scenario.