GREEN BAY—Mike McCarthy pronounced his team ready for the postseason.
“It was important for us to dominate opponents late in the year. We wanted to take the next step and I thought we accomplished that today,” the Packers head coach said following a 55-7 win over the Tennessee Titans that was every bit the blowout the final score would suggest.
At 11-4, the Packers have one game remaining before they turn to January and the postseason. Only one issue remains to be decided between now and then: Will the Packers enter the playoffs as the NFC’s No. 2 seed or No. 3 seed?
“Everything happens for a reason. We’re going to play to win next week,” McCarthy said of the regular season finale in Minnesota, which would have special meaning for the Packers if Seattle was to defeat San Francisco tonight. Should that occur, the Packers could clinch the No. 2 seed with a win in Minnesota.
“At the end of the day, you want to play your best football, and we have to do that next week in Minnesota. I’d rather have the No. 2 seed, but if it’s No. 3, that’s fine,” McCarthy added.
More important than the Packers’ seeding position is the undeniable fact the Packers are playing their best football of the season. 
“I really like the look of the way our defense is playing,” McCarthy said.
His defense didn’t have that look a year ago, when the Packers breezed into the playoffs 15-1 and the No. 1 seed in the NFC. It is the greatest difference between last season’s one-and-done team and this year’s version of adversity’s darlings. Last January, the Packers entered the playoffs with the NFL’s worst defense. This season, the Packers have a defense that is threatening the top 10.
Offensively, Rodgers’ control of the offense seems to increase on a weekly basis, and McCarthy went out of his way to praise Rodgers for his play-calling at the line of scrimmage.
“Tennessee challenged us and Aaron did a very good job of taking what was there,” McCarthy said.
The Packers’ first touchdown might’ve been a perfect example of the stamp Rodgers is putting on his offense. With an empty backfield and a five-wide look from the Titans’ 6-yard line, Rodgers scored on a quarterback draw. It was a play that had Rodgers’ stamp all over it.
“We’re focused on sweeping the division two years in a row,” McCarthy said of what the Packers will do with a win in Minnesota next weekend.
Running back
“It was a good 1-2 punch,” McCarthy said.
“That’s the way we want to look. That the way we want to play,” McCarthy added, referring to his offense’s mix of run and pass and its up-tempo style of play, which included 10 no-huddle possessions, which McCarthy said was a pregame goal.
What’s so good about the way the Packers look, McCarthy was asked?
“Score!” he said. “The ability to stop the run and make a team one-dimensional. That’s what we’ve been able to do the last two weeks. Offensively, we’ve been able to play run and pass. Those are the things you’re looking for in your football team.”
The Packers were also looking for their kicker,
“Mason is our kicker. I don’t know how long I have to keep saying this. Kicking in Lambeau is different. I was happy for him personally that he was two-for-two. He’s our guy,” McCarthy said.
Even the kicker is hot.
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