UPDATE: 10:50 p.m.
With the Packers winning the NFC North, here are the updated playoff scenarios.
Original story
The playoff-bound Green Bay Packers could find themselves in one of four different seeding slots for the 2019 postseason depending on the results of tonight’s showdown with the Minnesota Vikings (audio coverage starting at 4 p.m. on WTMJ and worldwide on desktop and laptop).
Here’s how those scenarios could play out, with all possible roads for the Packers to get there:
No. 1 seed: Home field advantage for the entire NFC playoffs
The Packers have to send a major Christmas gift to the Arizona Cardinals (similar to 2003). Arizona helped Green Bay out immensely by defeating the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
That keeps the door open for the Packers to get home field – perhaps necessary for the Packers to have a realistic hope of making Super Bowl LIV.
But three things must happen:
– The Packers beating Minnesota tonight
– The Packers beating Detroit on Sunday, Dec. 29 (9 a.m. on WTMJ and worldwide on desktop and laptop)
– The Seahawks beating San Francisco on Sunday, Dec. 29.
If all those things occur, the Packers will leapfrog both the Seahawks and 49ers (who would finish at 12-4) and would own the tiebreaker on the New Orleans Saints at 13-3, and thereby taking the No. 1 seed.
No. 2 seed: A first round bye and home field advantage for the NFC Divisional Playoff
The most simple pathway: Win out.
Beat Minnesota and beat Detroit. Do that, and the worst that can happen is the No. 2 seed – meaning San Francisco beats Seattle.
There is another way to get that No. 2 seed:
– The Packers split their final two games (beat Minnesota, lose to Detroit or vice versa)
– The Saints lose to Carolina on Sunday, Dec. 29
No. 3 seed: Home field advantage against the No. 6 seed in the NFC Wild Card game, followed by a matchup at the NFC No. 2 seed in the divisional playoffs if they win
This would happen under these following scenarios:
Scenario 1:
– The Packers split their final two games (beat Minnesota, lose to Detroit or vice versa)
– The Saints beat Carolina
Scenario 2:
– The Packers lose their final two games
– The Vikings lose to Chicago on Sunday, Dec. 29
The Packers cannot be the 4 or 5 seed.
No. 6 seed: NFC Wild Card game at the NFC No. 3 seed, followed by a matchup against the NFC’s No. 1 seed in the NFC Divisional Playoff if they win
This scenario would happen if the Vikings win the NFC North, so it requires:
– The Packers lose their final two games
– The Vikings beat Chicago on Sunday, Dec. 29
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