GREEN BAY – The further the Packers go, the simpler it gets.
The NFC is down to four teams – the top two from the NFC North and NFC West, respectively.
The Packers are one victory away from playing for the conference title for the second time in the last four years. Unlike 2016, though, Green Bay still has a chance to host that NFC Championship Game with a win and some help, and they'll know in advance whether or not they've gotten that help.
The road to the Super Bowl goes through No. 1 seed San Francisco, unless No. 6 seed Minnesota can pull of a second straight upset. That's the first of the two NFC Divisional games this weekend, being played at 3:35 p.m. CT Saturday.
If the 49ers win, they're hosting the winner of Sunday's No. 5 Seahawks vs. No. 2 Packers matchup (5:40 p.m. CT) next week with a berth in the Super Bowl on the line.
If the Vikings win, the Seahawks-Packers winner would get to host the NFC title game and play for a shot at the Super Bowl at home. Green Bay hasn't played a conference title game at Lambeau Field in 12 years.
That's pretty much the gist of it.
Over in the AFC, the No. 1 seed is also playing first, with Baltimore hosting No. 6 Tennessee on at 7:15 p.m. CT Saturday. So the order of consequences is the same as in the NFC.
If the Ravens win, they're hosting the AFC title game against the winner of No. 4 Houston at No. 2 Kansas City, which is being played at 2:05 p.m. CT Sunday, prior to the Packers game.
If the Titans win, the Texans-Chiefs winner will be hosting the AFC Championship Game.
The conference title games are slated for Sunday, Jan. 19, with the AFC going first (2:05 p.m. CT) followed by the NFC (5:40 p.m. CT).
