GREEN BAY – The Packers are in the playoffs, locked into the NFC's No. 7 seed, and looking at two possible opponents in the wild-card round come Jan. 10-12.
Green Bay's Week 18 game at Minnesota, set to kick off at noon CT Sunday, won't impact playoff seeding or matchups at all, but the Packers (9-6-1) will find out their first-round playoff foe and destination early Sunday evening based on other results.
It will first hinge on Detroit (8-8) at Chicago (11-5), and then possibly on Washington (4-12) at Philadelphia (11-5). Both of those games kick off at 3:25 p.m. CT Sunday to determine the NFC's No. 2 and 3 seeds, with the No. 2 hosting the No. 7 Packers the following week.
Here are the possibilities:
Green Bay travels to Chicago if …
Bears win OR Eagles lose
Green Bay travels to Philadelphia if …
Bears lose AND Eagles win
That's it, really. Not all that complicated. So if there's any preference as to the Packers' first-round opponent, fans can cheer according to those scenarios.
Two other significant matchups this week will factor greatly into the NFC playoff picture, and both are on Saturday.
First, the NFC South title and No. 4 seed is up for grabs as Carolina (8-8) visits Tampa Bay (7-9) on Saturday afternoon. The Panthers are the division champ if they win, but if the Buccaneers win, they would also need the Falcons (7-9) to lose to the Saints in order to win the division and make the playoffs. Because if the Falcons create a three-way tie for first, the Panthers win the tiebreaker.
Then, the NFC West title and No. 1 seed is on the line when Seattle (13-3) plays at San Francisco (12-4) on Saturday night. The winner gets a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, while the loser drops to either the No. 5 or 6 seed, depending on how the L.A. Rams (11-5) finish up.
For those who dare to look ahead, whichever NFC West team earns the No. 1 seed would host the Packers in the divisional round should Green Bay advance by beating either Chicago or Philadelphia. But one step at a time.
The playoffs are almost here, and right around the time the team's charter flight returns from Minneapolis on Sunday, the Packers will know where they're going next.
