The Green Bay Packers are 7-8 and currently outside the NFC playoff field with two weeks to go, but Matt LaFleur’s team has a few rather simple paths to qualifying for the postseason as a wildcard team. In fact, the Packers can clinch a spot with only four specific results mixed in different ways.
What needs to happen in one of these four-game scenarios?
— The Packers need to beat the Vikings in Week 17
— The Rams need to beat the Giants in Week 17
— The Packers need to beat the Bears in Week 18
— The 49ers need to beat the Rams in Week 18
No other result is required. The Packers would be in regardless of what happens with any other NFC team because of a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Rams. And the great part of this scenario is all four results look reasonable; the Rams will be favored over the Giants, and the 49ers — who will be fighting for positioning in the season finale — will almost certainly be favored over the Rams.
The Packers and Rams are strongly intertwined in this race. Another four-result clinching scenario actually exists.
— Giants beat Rams
— Packers beat Vikings
— Packers beat Bears
— Rams beat 49ers
Not as likely, but still possible. Packers finishing 2-0 and Rams 1-1 is the way. The Rams losing out (0-2) actually complicates the scenario.
Need another path? Here’s one that would set up a win-and-in scenario in the season finale.
If any combination of two losses by the Falcons (vs. Bears), Rams (vs. Giants) and Seahawks (vs. Steelers), and the Packers beat the Vikings, it would set up a win-and-in scenario over the Bears in Week 18.
So, the Packers would need two of the following results in Week 17:
1. Bears beat Falcons
2. Giants beat Rams
3. Steelers beat Seahawks
And then beat the Vikings to set up a win-and-in season finale vs. the Bears.
The Rams wouldn’t need to factor into this scenario. The Bears beating the Falcons and Steelers beating Seahawks (two reasonable results) would be all the Packers need to set up a clinching two-game scenario vs. the Vikings and Bears.
Long story short: the Packers need to win out against two division rivals and get a little bit of help. Not an unreasonable amount of help requiring big upsets and a string of losses, but just a few possible results.
The cheering guide in Week 17 is pretty straightforward: the Bears, Giants and Steelers can all help the Packers, and the Packers have to go to Minnesota and beat the Vikings. The best-case scenario — entering Week 18 with a chance to beat the Bears and clinch a playoff spot — is possible, and even a Rams win over the Giants could be beneficial.