The Green Bay Packers locked up the seventh seed in the NFC and booked themselves a trip to AT&T Stadium to face the Dallas Cowboys on Wild Card Weekend. While the Packers were considered underdogs against the Cowboys, they have now won their last three postseason games against Dallas and will advance to the Divisional Round.
With the assistance of the PFN NFL playoff predictor, let’s examine the Packers’ playoff scenarios for their Divisional Round opponent and how they have fared in recent seasons against them.
What Are the Green Bay Packers Playoff Scenarios for the Divisional Round?
The situation in terms of the Packers’ playoff scenarios was always pretty simple — as the seventh seed, they were guaranteed to face the San Francisco 49ers next week if they emerged victorious vs. the Cowboys.
As the seventh seed, the Packers will face the highest remaining seed, which will be the 49ers after their bye through Wild Card Weekend.
That means the Packers will be heading to Santa Clara and Levi’s Stadium to face a team they have a 38-33-1 record against all-time. That history dates back to 1950 when the Packers defeated the 49ers 25-21 at City Stadium. Unfortunately, for Green Bay, they have a 4-5 postseason record against the 49ers, with their first postseason meeting having been played in 1996.
The more recent history of games between the two teams is intriguing. Looking back to 2015, the Packers have had the better of regular-season matchups between the two. In those regular-season meetings, the Packers are 4-1, including winning their last two games in Levi’s Stadium.
However, the Packers’ recent postseason record against the 49ers is not a good one in the slightest. Green Bay lost their last four postseason games against San Francisco, including a 13-10 loss at home in the Divisional Round two years ago.
That time it was the No. 1 seed Packers hosting the No. 6 seed 49ers, who previously defeated the Cowboys on Wild Card Weekend in an upset win. The 49ers scored 10 unanswered points to close out the game, with a Robbie Gould field goal giving them the win as time expired.
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Their last playoff meeting in Levi’s Stadium was a fairly one-sided affair, with the 49ers winning 37-20 in comfortable fashion. In that NFC Championship Game meeting, the 49ers led 27-0 at the half, and while the Packers closed to within 14 points in the middle of the fourth quarter, they could not narrow the margin any further.
You have to go all the way back to 1998 to find a time when the Packers defeated the 49ers on the road in a playoff game. That was a 30-27 victory for Green Bay in Candlestick Park on Wild Card Weekend.
If Green Bay defeats the Cowboys and 49ers, they would then be on the road again in the NFC Championship Game. Their opponent in that game could be the Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Detroit Lions, or Los Angeles Rams. As the No. 7 seed, the Packers are guaranteed to play any playoff games this postseason on the road.
The Packers have run the table as the lowest seed in the NFC playoff picture before. Back in the 2010-11 season, Green Bay scraped into the playoffs, thanks to their strength of victory tiebreaker over the New York Giants. As the No. 6 seed, they went on the road for four straight games to emerge victorious holding the Lombardi Trophy.
The Packers beat the Eagles, Atlanta Falcons, and Chicago Bears on their way to the NFC crown. They then took down the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in Super Bowl XLV. Packers fans will be hoping that Jordan Love and Co. can roll back the years and emulate what that Aaron Rodgers-led team did in the 2010-11 season.
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Want to predict the results of the 2023 NFL postseason with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? How about looking into in-depth breakdowns of team depth charts or the NFL playoff schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with all that and more!