The Green Bay Packers were a good team stuck in a great division. Despite winning 11 games, the Packers were always destined for the Wild Card Round while playing in the same division as the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings.
As a result, the Packers enter the NFC playoff bracket as the No. 7 seed and must visit the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card Round. Should Green Bay advance, who would Matt LaFleur’s squad see in the Divisional Round?
What Are the Green Bay Packers’ Playoff Scenarios?
For future playoff scenarios, the key point to remember is that the NFL reseeds its teams after every round. The lowest remaining seed visits the highest remaining seed, unlike the majority of playoff formats (such as the College Football Playoff) where subsequent matchups are fixed based on the pre-existing bracket.
Consequently, the Packers can only face one team because they are the lowest-seeded team in the NFC playoff field. If Green Bay upsets Philadelphia, they’ll play the top-seeded Lions next round.
PFN’s NFL Playoff Predictor projects the Packers with a 41% chance to defeat the Eagles. Therefore, that’s also their chances of facing the Lions in the Divisional Round.
Detroit swept the regular-season meetings between the teams, winning 24-14 at Green Bay in Week 9 and holding on for a 34-31 win at home in Week 14. The losses were part of a problematic pattern for the Packers, who went 0-5 against the Lions, Vikings, and Eagles during the regular season but 11-1 against all other foes.
If there’s any consolation for the Packers, it’s that PFN’s metrics see the two teams as more evenly matched than the seeds might indicate. PFN’s final Power Rankings+ after Week 18 had the Lions as the best team in the NFL, but the Packers weren’t far behind at seventh overall.
Could the Packers Host the NFC Championship Game?
As the lowest-seeded team, the Packers are the only NFC team that cannot host the Conference Championship Game. The team’s Week 18 loss to the Chicago Bears will be their final game at Lambeau Field this season.
Since the NFL expanded to 14 playoff teams in 2020, No. 7 seeds are 1-7. However, the Packers themselves were the only teams to advance from that slotting. Green Bay defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 48-32, in the Wild Card Round after the 2023 season.