GREEN BAY – Those who live in the "if the playoffs started tomorrow" world are fired up the Packers climbed from the NFC's No. 6 seed all the way up to No. 2 with their victory over the Bears on Sunday.
But here's the thing: The playoffs don't start tomorrow. They don't start until another four games are played. By everybody.
So with the conference sporting five teams with either nine or 10 wins – the Rams, Seahawks, Packers, 49ers and Bears – plus the Eagles going for their ninth win Monday night and the Lions right behind with eight wins, there's no point in admiring, envying or scoffing at where any team sits at the moment.
The message from Head Coach Matt LaFleur is the Packers aren't paying attention to any of it and will by no means rest on their laurels after taking over first place in the NFC North from the Bears.
"Just look at the landscape of our league," LaFleur said Monday, less than 24 hours after the 28-21 triumph over Chicago. "Everybody's neck and neck from one through … whatever it is. Everybody's right there and you can't take anything for granted."
Not with a trip to 11-2 Denver this week against a Broncos team tied for the league's best record with New England.
The Broncos are built on a well-rounded defense, a promising young quarterback in Bo Nix, and winning close games.
Since losing back-to-back games in September on walk-off field goals, Denver has ripped off 10 wins in a row, nine of them one-possession margins. The Broncos' defense keeps them in every game, as it's allowed more than 24 points only three times all season.
Denver ranks fourth in the league in both yards and points allowed, but that doesn't tell the whole story. The Broncos' formidable unit ranks first in fewest yards per carry allowed (3.7) and tied for first in yards per pass attempt (5.0).
The biggest reason for the second number is a league-best 55 sacks, which is 11 more than any other team and on pace to break Denver's single-season franchise record of 63 sacks, which the Broncos set just last year.
"Every week's a new challenge, and this is going to be one of the toughest challenges to date," LaFleur said. "We're going to have our work cut out for us."
The Packers have certainly gotten their offense back on track after a lull following tight end Tucker Kraft's season-ending knee injury. In their current four-game winning streak, the Packers are averaging 27 points per game.
Back-to-back early November losses by three points each to Carolina and Philadelphia in which Green Bay scored a total of only 20 points was the season's low point. Kraft got hurt against the Panthers, and the offense was struggling with other injuries as well as pre-snap penalties and drops.
But as LaFleur often says, if adversity is handled the right way, a team can be better for it coming out the other side. That appears to be the case with these Packers, but plenty of work remains to be done.
"That's life in the National Football League," LaFleur said. "I think you've just gotta be resilient, you gotta keep fighting and you gotta ignore all the outside noise."
